FRANKFURT — Bayer has brought in WPP firms Finsbury and Hering Schuppener to provide M&A PR counsel following its $62bn bid for Monsanto.

The two firms, who unveiled an alliance last month, join Bayer's existing corporate agency of record Brunswick.

As reported by Reuters, Bayer's unsolicited bid for Monsanto "would be the largest foreign takeover by a German company if accepted."

However, the proposal has been criticised by some of Bayer's own shareholders. The deal comes as the farm supplies market consolidates, with Dow Chemical and DuPont's agriculture units also planning to merge.

It is understood that Hering Schuppener managing partner Alex Geiser is playing a lead role in terms of PR counsel. Bayer is aiming to position the bid in terms of the world's chronic food shortage, but there are several PR risks to contend with, not least public scepticism towards GM crops and Monsanto in Germany and Europe.

However, global agrochemicals companies are also consolidating in response to a drop in commodity prices and the growing convergence between seeds and pesticides markets. ChemChina is buying Switzerland's Syngenta for $43 billion, while BASF is looking into a possible tie-up with Monsanto.

Monsanto, in the past, has worked with US corporate firm Joele Frank.