Animal feeds

Chemical specialty company Degussa has acquired all of the shares of Hungary-based Agroferm, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Company.

As part of the deal, Degussa has obtained the exclusive rights to Kyowa Hakko's intellectual property for L-lysine, L-threonine, and L-tryptophane in the field of feed amino acids. When the transaction is completed, Degussa will begin selling tryptophan produced by the Kyowa Hakko subsidiary.

The transaction strengthens Degussa's activities in the field of essential amino-acids used for animal nutrition. Agroferm, with sales of approximately 25 million Euros and 160 employees, will be integrated into the feed additives business unit of Degussa this summer.

Degussa is the only manufacturer in the world to produce all three animal feed amino acids DL-methionine, L-lysine (Biolys) and L-threonine, which are manufactured at five locations in four countries. Its feed additives business unit generated sales of 613 millionEuros in fiscal 2003 and employs 1,000 people.

Kyowa Hakko will now concentrate on its pharmaceutical-, food-, and industrial-use amino acids businesses.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.