(Reuters) - German conglomerate Bayer AG's (DE:BAYGn) $62.5 billion bid to acquire U.S. seeds company Monsanto Co (N:MON) has won approval from the U.S. Justice Department, after the companies said they would sell off additional assets, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2GKhEGh on Monday.
The report said the department had reached an agreement in principle with the two companies in recent days, citing people familiar with the matter.
Bayer said in a statement it anticipated closing in the second quarter of 2018.
"We remain confident in our ability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals and look forward to continuing to work diligently with regulators to support that process," it said.
The Department of Justice and Monsanto both declined to comment.
Last week, Monsanto said in an earnings report that it was confident the U.S. and other needed regulatory approvals would be secured in the second quarter of this year.
The company did not host a conference call with analysts to discuss the earnings, as is its usual practice, because of the pending merger.
European Union antitrust regulators had approved the deal in March.
Monsanto's shares jumped 6.5 percent on Monday afternoon.