China's commerce ministry conditionally approves Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said on Tuesday it has conditionally approved the German drug and crop chemicals maker Bayer's acquisition of the world No. 1 seed company Monsanto.

The ministry also ordered Bayer to spin off some businesses globally, including vegetable seeds, corn, soybean, cotton, and herbicide, according to a statement posted on its website.

Bayer has already pledged to sell certain seed and herbicide assets for 5.9 billion euros ($7.27 billion) to BASF to address EU regulatory concerns.

($1 = 0.8114 euros)

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)