Materials and the more targeted agribusiness sector-related exchange traded funds stood out in a sideways trending market after German pharmaceutical and chemicals giant Bayers AG made an all-cash bid for Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON).
Bayer confirmed that it approached Monsanto over a takeover bid for $62 billion, or a $122 per share bid, reports Christopher Alessi for Dow Jones Business News.
Monsanto said it was “carefully reviewing” the proposal and declined to comment further.
News of the bid sent MON shares surging 5.0% mid-Monday.
Related: 23 Best ETFs to Track Basic Materials
Meanwhile, the VanEck Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSEArca: MOO) gained 1.2%, iShares MSCI Global Agriculture Producers ETF (NYSEArca: VEGI) rose 1.2% and Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLB) increased 1.4%.
MON is the largest component of the funds, accounting for 8.1% of MOO’s underlying holdings, 13.6% of VEGI and 8.7% of XLB.
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