Syngenta approved a $43 billion takeover by the state-owned ChemChina, making it the largest foreign purchase by a Chinese firm, Reuters reports.

ChemChina — short for China National Chemical Corp. — made the offer to increase food security for its population, the news outlet says.

The acquisition follows Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont’s merger, which was announced late last year. Monsanto pursued Syngenta throughout 2015, with a final takeover offer of approximately $47 billion, but the Board of Syngenta rejected it.

Bloomberg reports that if completed, the deal would transform ChemChina into the world’s biggest supplier of pesticides and agrochemicals. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

IN OTHER NO-TILL NEWS…

• AGCO introduced the new White 9800VE Series planters featuring a new seed meter, electronic drive, automated down force and monitoring and data-management technologies. The series is available in 30-inch spacings in 12, 16 and 24 rows.
• Vivid Life Sciences received EPA registration for Agri-Fos Systemic Fungicide Plus. The potassium-based phosphite fungicide contains 15% more active ingredient than the original and can be used in field corn, oats, sorghum and other crops.
• Case IH introduced the 2000 Series Early Riser planter, the first to factory-integrate seed-placement technologies from Precision Planting. The first models will be available for the 2017 planting season and will feature the vSet 2 meter, vDrive electric drive and DeltaForce hydraulic down force.
• Monsanto Co. announced its commercial launch plans for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans after receiving import approval in…