Deere & Company is disappointed to announce that, under pressure from the Department of Justice, Monsanto Company is ending the 2015 agreement that would have allowed Deere to acquire Precision Planting LLC. A digital collaboration between Deere and The Climate Corporation, along with an expansion of access between Ag Leader and Precision Planting, have also been terminated.

“We are deeply disappointed in this outcome as we remain confident the acquisition would have benefited customers,” said John May, President, Agricultural Solutions and Chief Information Officer.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice brought legal action in an attempt to block the transaction. Deere and Monsanto were prepared to present their case for approval of the acquisition later this year. May said, “With an opportunity to see this to conclusion, we believe it would have been clear the challenge to the transaction was based on flawed assessments of the marketplace.”

“As a world leader in precision agriculture, John Deere will continue developing technology-based products and services to help customers improve the productivity and profitability of their operations,” May added, emphasizing that customers can still expect an expansion of actionable data available through the John Deere Operations Center and the nearly 75 connected software tools offered.