Bayer says antitrust reviews going into 'unimaginable depths'

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - The antitrust review of Bayer's planned takeover of Monsanto is going into "unimaginable depths," Bayer's Chief Executive Werner Baumann said on Wednesday, but added he remained confident that the deal would be closed early next year.

"To illustrate the point, we have by now delivered more than 4 million pages of documents to the EU commission," Baumann told a conference.

The reason for the intense scrutiny was a new focus by authorities on competition in research and development, and an effort to predict the effect on future product markets.

"The intention of cartel authorities, here and overseas, is that the antitrust remedies allow competitors ... to be comprehensively enabled over the long term," Baumann said.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)