One more player has dropped out of the canola seed business.
Monsanto has bought Advanta Seeds, a significant canola seed producer, effectively doubling its canola seed business.
Monsanto now develops and sells canola seed through its DeKalb subsidiary.
“By combining them, that will put us in terms of scope and size probably No. 2 (in Canada),” said Monsanto Canada spokesperson Trish Jordan.
But Monsanto has not yet determined how to combine the two companies. Advanta’s Canadian operations are based in Winnipeg with seed production and breeding facilities in Carman, Man., Lethbridge and Cranbrook, B.C.
Read Also
Green lentil market oversupplied
Farmers in Western Canada can expect price pressure on their new crop of green lentils, as the available supplies among the world’s major lentil-growing nations increase significantly.
Monsanto’s Canadian canola breeding program is based in Ontario, after being moved out of Winnipeg in May.
Jordan said she didn’t know if any facilities would be closed or staff eliminated.
“It’s too early to speculate on any specifics,” she said.
“We’re taking two canola seed companies and our goal is to turn it into one really successful canola seed business.”
DeKalb and Advanta will continue to market canola seed under their own brand names, at least for the time being.
Advanta’s American canola seed operations and its sunflower program are being taken over by the American side of Monsanto.
Advanta was a much bigger company at the beginning of 2004, but in May it was purchased by Syngenta and venture capital company Fox Paine Capital Fund II International. Syngenta took over Advanta’s North American corn and soybean assets and sales, while Fox Paine took over the rest of the corn and soybean business as well as non-corn and soybean assets, such as the company’s canola seed business.
Advanta Seeds had sales of about $650 million in 2003 and was purchased by Syngenta and Fox Paine for $660 million. Monsanto would not say what it paid for Fox Paine’s side of the company or the size of Advanta’s Canadian canola sales.
Monsanto will spend the next six months figuring out how best to blend the two companies, Jordan said.
Whether integration will mean moving DeKalb’s canola program back to Winnipeg or moving Advanta’s to Ontario remains to be seen.
“We’re not in a real rush to get that done quickly,” said Jordan.
“We want to do what makes the most sense and make the best decisions going forward.”
