Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and Middlebury,
Connecticut
March 22, 2004
Bayer CropScience LP
in the U.S. and Bayer CropScience Inc. in Canada today signed
agreements to purchase
Crompton Corporation's (NYSE: CK) 50 percent share of the
Gustafson seed treatment
business in the United States, Canada and Mexico [NAFTA] for the
purchase price of U.S.$124 million in cash.
The
action would give Bayer CropScience, which already holds a 50
percent share of the U.S. and Canadian Gustafson joint ventures,
full ownership of Gustafson’s NAFTA business, subject to
customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to
close by the end of the first quarter.
Gustafson manufactures and markets seed treatment products and
related equipment. Based in Plano, Texas, and Calgary, Canada,
the company employs approximately 250 people in the NAFTA
region. In 2003, Gustafson sales were approximately U.S.$130
million.
“Purchase of the Gustafson seed treatment business would allow
us to participate directly in this increasingly important
segment of the NAFTA crop protection markets,” said Emil Lansu,
president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP and head of Bayer
CropScience for the NAFTA region.
According to Lansu, the acquisition would give Bayer CropScience
the benefit of the full range of Gustafson’s products, including
certain products from third parties, which would continue to
make up a key component of the Gustafson product portfolio.
“We
presently have several strong seed treatment products,” Lansu
added. “With the Gustafson purchase we look to more fully
realize the potential of this business while enhancing our
ability to provide solutions for growers.”
Crompton will continue to participate in the global seed
treatment business. In the NAFTA region, the company will supply
its seed treatment products through the Bayer
CropScience-Gustafson business. Crompton’s seed treatment
business outside of NAFTA will be unaffected by the transaction.
“We
remain committed to our worldwide crop protection business,
including its important seed treatment segment and to providing
the technologically advanced solutions our customers have come
to expect,” said Robert L. Wood, Crompton’s president and chief
executive officer. “The proceeds from this transaction will be
used to further our goal of ongoing debt reduction.”
Bayer CropScience LP is the U.S. business of Bayer CropScience,
which has its global headquarters in Monheim, Germany. Bayer
CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about
EUR 5.8 billion (2003), is one of the world’s leading innovative
crop science companies in the areas of crop protection,
non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology.
The company offers an outstanding range of products and
extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and
for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a
global workforce of about 19,000 and is represented in more than
120 countries, ensuring proximity to dealers and consumers.
Crompton Corporation, with annual sales of $2.2 billion, is a
producer and marketer of specialty chemicals and polymer
products and equipment. |