Vilmorin-Clause & Cie. has signed an agreement in principle to acquire 40% of the Japanese seed company Kyowa, ranked number in its domestic market.

Vilmorin-Clause & Cie thus becomes the most important shareholder of the company along with two companies of the Mitsubishi group, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Chemicals MKV Company, with which it shares a common business vision of the future.

The transaction must be cleared by Japanese authorities and should be finalized by mid-September.

Kyowa Seeds, headquartered in Tokyo, is profitable and has a 10 billion-yen turnover (about 650 MF), a third of which is vegetable seeds.

Like all operators in this country, it distributes agricultural materials, irrigation systems and plastics for greenhouses --, which allow it to feed its distributor network. Part of these complementary ranges of products is provided by the Mitsubishi Group companies.

The agreement calls for Kyowa to become a Vilmorin-Clause & Cie platform for the Asia-Pacific area and for the implementation of all possible synergies with its European and American subsidiaries, including Harris Moran -- in the fields of Research, Production, and Marketing.

A significant capital expenditure plan will be launched to give the Company the means necessary to fulfill its ambitions, from investing in biotechnologies to acquiring market shares, both domestically and internationally.

Thanks to this operation, Vilmorin-Clause & Cie finalizes the implementation of its worldwide professional network, and gains access to the genetic material specific to the Asia-Pacific area.

It now has with Kyowa - with its base in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Indonesia) and in Australia - a complete arsenal to grow into the most populated area of the globe where the consumption of vegetables is the highest.

Vilmorin-Clause & Cie also reinforces its worldwide leadership, based on its two fields, Professional and Home-Garden.

This operation ends years of efforts to find the best possible access to the huge Asian markets with Kyowa representing a very unique opportunity.

As it had been announced, year 2000 has shown the relaunch of external growth for Vilmorin-Clause & Cie with the permanent will to keep on improving its competitiveness and its profitability.

The 30 June, 2000 financial statements should, anew, illustrate this.

Vilmorin-Clause & Cie is the specialized vegetable and flower division of Groupe Limagrain, a farmer-owned French cooperative that's grown into one of the largest seed companies in the world. 

Company news release
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