July 4, 2012
Bayer CropScience acquires biological company AgraQuest for nearly US$500 million
Press release
Bayer CropScience announces that it has signed an agreement to purchase US-based biological company AgraQuest, Inc., at US$425 million plus milestone payments.
AgraQuest, headquartered in Davis, California, USA, is a global supplier of innovative biological pest management solutions based on natural microorganisms. This acquisition will enable Bayer CropScience to build a leading technology platform for green products and to strengthen its strategically important fruits and vegetables business, while also opening new opportunities in other crops and markets.
Green products control a broad spectrum of pests and diseases and offer farmers integrated pest management programs to minimise development of resistance and maximize crop yields. The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant authorities.
The tailor-made portfolio and promising R&D pipeline of AgraQuest will help Bayer CropScience to build a broad-based technology platform to bring a new generation of innovative products to the market. This acquisition will help to optimally use R&D, manufacturing and market synergies creating value for both Bayer CropScience and its customers.
"AgraQuest expands our existing biological pest control portfolio centered on our successful Votivoâ„¢ biological nematicide, and it allows us to further leverage the biotechnology platform we have acquired through Athenix Corporation," said Sandra Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience.
AgraQuest, Inc. is a global biotechnology company that focuses on discovering, manufacturing and marketing highly effective biopesticide products to increase agricultural production. Its current product portfolio includes well-established product brands such as Serenade®, Rhapsody®, Sonata® and Ballad® fungicides and Requiem® insecticides, which provide effective disease and pest control and will complement Bayer CropScience's product offering.
Bayer CropScience will also leverage AgraQuest's technology platform and its promising pipeline of new biological control agents. Several new pipeline products, which include acaracides, fungicides and nematicides, amongst others, are under development, and have undergone successful early field evaluations. Through the acquisition Bayer CropScience will integrate AgraQuest's state-of-the-art biopesticides production facility in Tlaxcala, Mexico, as well as the company's R&D site in Davis
Bayer CropScience is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits.