German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG has reached a $7 billion deal to sell parts of its Crop Science unit to German chemical company BASF to alleviate regulatory concerns over its planned takeover of U.S. seed and weed-killer company Monsanto Co.

Bayer AG is selling some of its Crop Science business to BASF to help clear the way for its pending $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. Bayer announced on 13th October that it had signed an agreement to sell the units for 5.9 million euro, or about $7 billion. “We are taking an active approach to address potential regulatory concerns, with the goal of facilitating a successful close of the Monsanto transaction,” Werner Baumann, Bayer chairman, said in a statement.

BASF is buying Bayer’s glufosinate-ammonium business and related technology for herbicide tolerance, essentially all of the company’s field crop seeds businesses, and the respective research and development capabilities. Seeds businesses being acquired by BASF include the global cotton seed business (excluding India and South Africa), the North American and European canola seed businesses and the soybean seed business. The deal includes facilities that employ more than 1,800, primarily in the U. S., Germany, Brazil, Canada and Belgium.