Corteva Agriscience Acquires Full Ownership of PhytoGen Seed Company, LLC Joint Venture

Date:07-01-2020

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) announced on Tuesday the Company signed an agreement with J.G. Boswell Company to purchase its ownership interest in PhytoGen Seed Company, LLC – a joint venture between the two companies.

PhytoGen Seed Company, LLC was formed to focus on the U.S. cottonseed industry. With a 53.5% stake prior to the agreement, Corteva has operated this joint venture in the U.S. market through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mycogen LLC.

“This acquisition provides a solid proof point of our consistent commitment to driving long-term growth through targeted investments in solid margin opportunities that at the same time strengthen our ability to serve our customers,” said James C. Collins, Jr., Corteva Agriscience Chief Executive Officer.

“With this action, we intend to build on the strong foundation we established with J.G. Boswell Company over the last two decades – continuing to serve cotton customers with our growing global portfolio of leading cottonseed products,” said Steve Reno, Corteva Agriscience Seed Business Platform President. “This step further strengthens Corteva Agriscience’s commitment to the cotton market – and positions the Company well to diversify and grow this business globally over time.”

Corteva has a high-yielding, elite germplasm portfolio, with breeding infrastructure and technologies expected to continue to advance genetic gain – together with industry-leading trait technologies to address existing and emerging pest management challenges for cotton growers. PhytoGen Breeding Traits™ protect yield and fiber quality, all season long, with in-plant protection against challenging cotton diseases and nematode pests. Further, PhytoGen^® brand varieties with the Enlist^® cotton trait provide more options for unrivaled productivity against tough to control and resistant weeds – and the trusted durability of PhytoGen brand varieties with WideStrike^® and WideStrike 3 Insect Protection helps cotton farmers protect their crops from potential yield-robbing pests.

With a 100% ownership position in PhytoGen Seed Company, LLC, Corteva will become the sole owner of the intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, proprietary germplasm and information, as well as know-how. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.