In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and science news:

  • Bayer and Monsanto are talking a deal
  • Facebook execs meet with conservatives to discuss alleged bias
  • LinkedIn confirms just how big a 2012 hack was
  • Apple plans to open a development office in India

The details:

  • Germany’s Bayer in talks to buy crop seeds company Monsanto

German drug and chemicals company Bayer confirmed Thursday it has entered talks with the Monsanto Company about the possible acquisition of the U.S.-based specialist in genetically modified crop seeds.

Leverkusen-based Bayer said in a short statement that its executives had met recently with their Monsanto counterparts “to privately discuss a negotiated acquisition of Monsanto Company.”

The news sent Bayer shares tumbling 7.9 percent in early trading on Germany’s DAX index to 88.81 euros ($100.17). Monsanto shares jumped 8.9 percent to $105.80 in pre-market trading in New York.

Bayer AG, whose farm business produces seeds as well as compounds to kill weeds, bugs and fungus, said the proposed acquisition would help it “create a leading integrated agriculture business.”

St. Louis, Missouri-based Monsanto said late Wednesday that it was reviewing Bayer’s proposal. Neither company gave other details.

The possible deal had been rumored for a week but it was the first comment from either company.

It follows a wave of consolidation in the chemicals industry: DuPont and Dow Chemical agreed to combine last year, and ChemChina agreed to buy Syngenta of Switzerland in March after Monsanto’s own bid for its Basel-based rival failed.

Monsanto has some 20,000 employees and produces seeds for fruits, vegetables and other crops including corn, soybeans and cotton, as well as the popular weed-killer Roundup.

Its sales have suffered recently as falling crop prices have reduced farmers’ spending on its genetically enhanced seeds. Meantime, the strong U.S. dollar has meant its products are more expensive overseas.

Bayer, which specializes in health care and agriculture, employs some 117,000 people worldwide and had sales last year of 46.3 billion euros ($52.22 billion).

  • Facebook’s CEO meets with conservatives on reported bias

Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday held a wide-ranging discussion with a group of conservative commentators who said afterward the Facebook CEOacknowledged the giant social network has a problem reaching conservatives.

The meeting at Facebook’s Menlo Park, California, headquarters came about after a report accused the company of harboring a bias against conservative views.

S.E. Cupp, a columnist with the New York Daily News who attended the meeting, said Facebook executives “were very clear to acknowledge that there is a problem and the problem is a serious one.”

Cupp said Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President Joel Kaplan and board member Peter Thiel mostly listened to the 17 conservatives who attended.

While the Facebook executives did not comment further on an internal investigation into allegations of political manipulation, they explained how difficult it would be for Facebook employees to inject bias into what stories make it into the “trending topics” section of the site or on individual users’ news feeds, Cupp said.

The Facebook team also said any such tampering would be “philosophically against both the mission of the company and Mark’s personal mission,” Cupp said. “I believed them.”

Rob Bluey, editor in chief of the website The Daily Signal, made similar comments to Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren shortly after the meeting ended.

“They certainly acknowledged that there was a problem with getting the message out to conservatives,” he said.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone confirmed that was the tenor of the meeting.

In a Facebook post afterward, Zuckerberg did not directly respond to allegations that Facebook employees suppressed conservative stories on its “trending topics” feature. But he said, “I know many conservatives don’t trust that our platform surfaces content without a political bias.”

“I wanted to hear their concerns personally and have an open conversation about how we can build trust. I want to do everything I can to make sure our teams uphold the integrity of our products,” he wrote.

  • LinkedIn confirms 2012 hack exposed 117M user passwords

LinkedIn said Wednesday that a 2012 breach resulted in more than 100 million of its users’ passwords being compromised — vastly more than previously thought.

The business social network said that it believes to be true a purported hacker’s claim that 117 million user emails and passwords were stolen in the breach, up from the 6.5 million user credentials that the company originally said were compromised. Those 6.5 million passwords were reset in 2012 and the company advised the rest of its users to change their passwords too.

The hacker, who goes by the name “Peace,” was trying to sell the passwords on the dark web for 5 bitcoin, or about $2,200, according to a Forbes report.

Mountain View, California-based LinkedIn Corp., which touts 400 million members in 200 countries and territories around the world, emphasized that there’s no indication of a new data breach.

The company said it’s working to determine just how many of the passwords in question are still being used and is in the process of resetting them and notifying the users in question.

  • Apple will open India office to develop its Maps feature

Apple will set up an office in southern India to develop the Maps feature for its products, the company said Thursday in its second such announcement since CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country.

A company statement said the venture will be located in the technology hub of Hyderabad and will create about 4,000 jobs.

“Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development,” Cook said in the statement.

“The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations.”

On Wednesday the company announced that it will set up an app design and development center in the city of Bangalore. That venture is expected to be in place by early 2017, but the expected opening date of the Hyderabad office wasn’t disclosed.