Bayer to win EU approval for $62.5-bn Monsanto deal: Sources

German drug and crop chemicals maker Bayer is set to win conditional European Union antitrust approval for its $62.5 billion bid for world No. 1 seed company Monsanto, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The takeover, one of a trio of major deals in the agribusiness sector in recent years, would create a company with a share of more than a quarter of the world's seed and pesticides market.

Shifting weather patterns, competition in grain exports and a souring global farm economy have spurred consolidation among the major players, triggering protests from environmental and farming groups worried about their market power.

Bayer has already pledged to sell certain seed and herbicide assets for 5.9 billion euros ($7.2 billion) to BASF to address EU regulatory concerns.