Berkshire Added to Monsanto Stake as Bayer Deal Nears Completion

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. boosted its bet on Monsanto Co. as the company moved closer to completing a takeover by Germany’s Bayer AG.

Berkshire increased its stake in the the world’s biggest seed company by 62 percent to 19 million shares, which were worth $2.2 billion at the end of the first quarter, it said in a regulatory filing May 15. The filing misspells Monsanto’s name as Mosanto.

Bayer seems all but set to take over Monsanto this quarter as it wraps up final regulatory approvals. Bayer’s Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann said earlier this month that the company ...