Bug business worth billions
29 Oct 2002
Bayer CropScience intends to sell a package of selected insecticides and fungicides to BASF while retaining certain back-licenses for non-agricultural applications. Taking into consideration the back-licenses, the cash purchase price amounts to 1,185 million Euros.
With the completion of the transaction, Bayer CropScience will be fulfilling a major condition imposed by the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as part of its acquisition of Aventis CropScience.
'The purchase price agreed represents a fair compensation for the required divestments. I am pleased that we were able to retain licence rights to market Fipronil and its mixtures in certain non-agricultural markets within the scope of the FTC consent order,' said Dr. Jochen Wulff, Chairman of the Board of Bayer CropScience.
The agreements with BASF contain assets and rights related to two insecticides (active ingredients: Fipronil, Ethiprole) and a number of fungicides (active ingredients: Prochloraz, Iprodione, Triticonazole, Fluquinconazole and Pyrimethanil).
BASF will also acquire the Aventis Crop-Science manufacturing plant in Elbeuf, France. The total revenue from the products and operations involved in the transaction amounted to about 500 million Euros in 2001.
This transaction is still subject to approval by the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission.
