The widespread knowledge that the information was being prepared to aid Cargill Hybrid Seeds International in selling Cargill Seeds Mexico left most employees with a feeling of confusion and demotivation the months before the acquisition. As noted in Exhibit 3, Cargill’s sales volume - and consequently, its net earnings -, decreased significantly during this time period, adding to the disappointment of Mr. Magaña and his management team, who were accustomed to better numbers for their division. Additionally, the “new owners” of Cargill Seeds Mexico would be Asgrow executives (Asgrow had been acquired by Monsanto in September 1996 (Exhibit 12)). In Mexico, Monsanto Seeds meant Asgrow, and Asgrow had the largest market share in the corn seeds market, lightly surpassing Pioneer in the last two years. Due to the years of competing with Asgrow, the managers of Cargill expected the leaders of Asgrow to look down on the management team of Cargill. Furthermore, Monsanto acquired Dekalb Genetics in May 1998 (a month before the Cargill acquisition); Dekalb, in turn, was one of the oldest players in the Mexican seeds market, with a market share superior to Cargill´s. Thus, Cargill top management were speculating that in the integration process of Asgrow, Dekalb, and Cargill, their company would be seen as weakest one, and that they would not be able to contribute as much to the development of strategy, not to mention maintaining their jobs. Finally, as had been suggested in the business press, Monsanto corporate culture was different than Cargill´s potentially making the integration process even more difficult.