AgroPages-BASF provides details on acquisition of Bayer seed and herbicide businesses-Agricultural news

Related News

BASF held a press conference Oct. 17 to provide further details on its agreement to acquire significant parts of Bayer’s seed and non-selective herbicide businesses.

“For BASF this is an excellent opportunity for us to enter the seed market and to add high quality fully enabled seed businesses for canola, soybeans, and cotton to our portfolio,” Paul Rea, BASF vice president of Crop Protection North America, said. “The transaction allows us to complement our herbicide business with glufosinate-ammonium based non-selective herbicides. By acquiring seed we will be further positioned closer to our customers and more attuned to their needs.”

The purchase includes Liberty Link technology and trait research for canola, cotton and soybeans. Scott Kay, BASF vice president for United States Crop Protection businesses, said the purchase includes the relevant research and development pipeline and intellectual property which includes more than 250 patent families.

More than 1,800 employees from commercial, research and development, breeding and production will transfer from Bayer to BASF. Nearly 700 of these employees are currently based in North America.

Included in the purchase are five chemical production and formulation facilities in Germany, the U.S. and Canada. This includes sites in Atlanta, Georgia; Morrisville, North Carolina; Muskegon, Michigan; Lubbock, Texas; and Mobile, Alabama. Furthermore the purchase includes 10 research and development sites that are complimented by regional seed production and plant breeding facilities.

“This acquisition is an excellent opportunity to push innovation in agriculture,” Kay said. “These assets will enable us to develop a more attractive and comprehensive portfolio that will open new doors to our research and with that we are confident we will be able to deliver more tools to support farmers.”

This transaction is subject to the closing of Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto and approval by relevant authorities. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

Rea said BASF bought a running functioning businesses that are growing and they will do what they can to keep these businesses growing.

“As we look at these new assets we will focus on how do we continue to let them flourish once they become part of BASF,” Rea said. “Any strategic changes will come later.”