BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) —Syngenta, which was acquired by ChemChina, has vowed to bulk up its seed business and join the chase for assets that Bayer must sell to gain regulatory approval for its takeover of Monsanto.
Syngenta, a distant third in the global seed market behind Monsanto and DuPont, is determined not to lose ground on its rivals as the seed and crop protection sector continues an unprecedented wave of mergers and acquisitions.
The Swiss company, which is the world’s leading crop chemical maker, itself fought off unwanted suitor Monsanto before agreeing to be taken over by ChemChina to secure better access to Asian markets and is now targeting its own acquisitions and licensing deals.
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“We are very interested in seed assets from remedies and beyond that,” chief executive officer Erik Fyrwald said in response to a question about assets to be sold by Bayer.
Bayer last month said it will sell its LibertyLink-branded seed businesses, a key part of asset sales required to satisfy competition authorities looking at the $66 billion Monsanto deal.
“The goal is to strengthen Syngenta’s leadership position in crop protection and to become an ambitious No. 3 in seed,” the company said.
Seed will be the main plank of the growth strategy to meet ChemChina’s target for Syngenta to double its revenue over the next five to 10 years, the Chinese group said.
ChemChina, which has acquired close to 98 percent of Syngenta’s shares, also plans to float a minority stake in its newly acquired subsidiary on the stock market in the next five years or so to bolster its balance sheet.
“The timing of the minority IPO (initial public offering) of Syngenta will depend on the market situation,” ChemChina chair Ren Jianxin, now also Syngenta chair, said.
Ren also dismissed as “rumours” reports that ChemChina could merge with state-owned Chinese peer Sinochem.
