from: Keygene Genetics Newsletter VI

Over the past 2 years important changes have occurred in the shareholder composition of Keygene.

Keygene was originally owned by a consortium of vegetable and field crop breeding companies, but now that Cebeco Seeds has decided to offer its shares, the ownership is exclusively in hands of vegetable breeding companies: De Ruiter Seeds, Enza Seeds, Rijk Zwaan, and Vilmorin Clause & Cie.

Furthermore, the shareholders acquired exclusive rights on all Keygene technologies and applications in their field of vegetable plant breeding. This was a.o. instigated because the application of markers in breeding has become an essential component for success, as is illustrated by a quote from a director of a shareholder:

“Through our applied genetics projects in Keygene, Marker Assisted Breeding has become a key component in our breeding and selection processes. It helps us to come up with better varieties and bring them faster to the market place.” (Pierre Lefebvre, CEO of Vilmorin Clause & Cie and Chairman of the Vegetable and Ornamental Section of the International Seed Federation (ISF)).

Outside the vegetable crops, Keygene has complete freedom to use all available technologies in its services and contract research. In return for the exclusivity, the shareholders are committed to providing substantial investments in technology development and advanced marker applications, thereby generating the critical mass necessary for obtaining breakthroughs in this type of research.