Royal London says backs Bayer-Monsanto deal if priced at $130-$135 per share

RLAM fund manager Andrea Williams said she would not, however, like the board of Bayer to offer as much as $150 a share.

Given other deals ongoing in the sector, there was no other obvious buyer for Monsanto, she said in emailed comments to Reuters. "(I) don't think a Chinese player would be allowed to take Monsanto over so (Bayer) don't need to stretch the price," Williams said.

Monsanto on Tuesday rejected Bayer's initial $122 a share bid, describing it as "incomplete and financially inadequate", but said it was open to further talks.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)