St. Louis, Missouri
June 19, 2008
Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) has agreed to acquire Marmot,
S.A., which operates
Semillas Cristiani Burkard (SCB), a privately-held seed
company headquartered in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Once
completed, the acquisition will build on Monsanto's corn
business leadership and enable it to offer farmers in Central
American countries broader access to corn seed varieties. The
transaction will be completed as soon as practical. Additional
terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"With more than 40 years in the seed business, SCB is the
leading provider of high-quality products to farmers in Central
America," said Brett Begemann, Monsanto's executive
vice-president of Global Commercial. "This acquisition, which
solidifies Monsanto's position as the leading corn seed provider
in the Latin and Central American regions, will enable our
companies to provide new and innovative higher-yielding corn
seed offerings to farmers."
"We are pleased to have entered into this agreement with
Monsanto," said Antonio Juan Cristiani Burkard, SCB's President,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "The agreement will allow
both Monsanto and SCB to leverage their strong R&D capabilities,
germplasm base and breeding capabilities to bring new technology
to farmers."
SCB focuses on hybrid corn seed production and is a leading
provider of corn, sorghum, forage sorghum, soybeans, and
pastures (grass-type seeds). The company operates in twelve
countries throughout North, Central and South America and the
Caribbean. SCB's General Manager Antonio Cristiani Moscoso will
continue to lead the SCB business and its 360 employees.
SCB adds a strong market presence to strengthen Monsanto's seed
footprint in the region. The company has long standing
relationships with farmers and works with more than 900 dealers
in the Central American region. SCB is also a distributor of
Seminis vegetable seeds, a product of Monsanto's vegetable seed
division.
Monsanto believes that the acquisition will enhance the
company's international corn seed business and its genetics
portfolio, enabling the company to deliver new seed offerings to
farmers. Longer term, pending regulatory approvals, Monsanto
believes the acquisition holds the opportunity to expand the
potential adoption of biotechnology traits internationally.
Founded in 1966, Semillas Cristiani Burkard is a leading seed
company in the Latin America Tropics headquartered in Guatemala.
It is devoted to the development of seed for corn, grain
sorghum, forage sorghum hybrids and soybean varieties.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality.
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