Gedera, Israel
July 9, 2007
The leading Israeli seed company,
Zeraim Gedera Ltd., is
happy to announce that
Syngenta has decided to acquire Zeraim Gedera from
Markstone Capital
Partners, an Israeli private equity group.
Ohad Zuckerman, Zeraim’s President & CEO, said: “Thanks to our
efforts to focus on few high value crops and market segments
over the last years, we have achieved a strong growth and
successfully established our Zeraim Gedera brand in many
markets. Our very close collaboration with the Israeli Research
Institutes and particularly our great personal and long-lasting
relationships with the leading Israeli scientists have been very
instrumental to this growth. We will now pursue and even further
accelerate this growth by accessing to Syngenta capabilities and
expertise. We will also continue to invest in and extend our
collaboration with Israeli Research Institutes.”
The Zeraim brand will have a strong future under the Syngenta
umbrella, alongside with S&G®, Rogers® and Daehnfeldt® and will
continue to stand for innovation, high quality products and
valued customer service.
The transaction is anticipated to close over the course of 2007,
following receipt of regulatory approvals. Zeraim Gedera
management plans to visit its business partners in order to
inform them about the deal and the intended organization in more
details.
Zeraim Gedera is a dynamic, growing Israeli seed company,
focused on “high end” products for consumers and growers. In all
programs the focus is both on fruit qualities attractive to
consumers, such as superior taste, nutritional values and long
shelf-life as well as traits important to growers, such as high
yield and resistance to diseases. The Company is active mainly
in the Mediterranean Basin, North America and China and employs
215 employees.
Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to
sustainable agriculture through innovative research and
technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and
ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in
2006 were approximately $8.1 billion. Syngenta employs around
21,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the
Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further
information is available at www.syngenta.com.
Markstone Capital Partners is Israel’s biggest Private Equity
Fund. Since its establishment in January 2004 by 3 partners, it
has already invested in 7 leading Israeli companies. The fund
focuses on “Traditional Economy” Israeli companies. Markstone
maintains two offices in Israel & USA.
RELATED RELEASE:
Syngenta reinforces vegetable seeds with
Zeraim Gedera acquisition
Syngenta stärkt Geschäft mit Gemüsesaatgut durch Akquisition
von Zeraim Gedera
Syngenta développe ses activités semences potagères en rachetant
Zeraim Gedera |
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