Vilmorin buys U.S. vegetable seed firm as Syngenta hopes wane

Vilmorin & Cie SA

01/02/2016 10:28

PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Vilmorin  VILM.PA  has acquired 
Genica Research Corporation to boost its place as the 
second-largest vegetable seed maker after concluding Syngenta's 
activities were no longer for sale. 
    Genica Research Corporation, headquartered in California, 
specializes in research, breeding, production and distribution 
by delegation of hybrid vegetable seeds, mainly sweet and hot 
peppers, cucumber, summer squash and tomato. 
    Genica had sales of more than $25 million in 2015 and 50 
employees. Vilmorin did not disclose the value of the takeover. 
    Vilmorin, whose shares had risen by 2.65 percent by 0900 
GMT, sells both vegetable and crop seeds. 
    Its vegetable business has proved more profitable in recent 
years as crop seeds suffered from the financial crisis in Russia 
and Ukraine and sowings fell in Europe and the United States. 
    This was expected to continue in 2015-2016, Vilmorin Chief 
Executive Emmanuel Rougier said in a call with analysts, 
confirming an outlook given in October.  
    Asked about Vilmorin's interest in Syngenta, raised after 
the Swiss agrochemicals group spurned a $47 billion takeover 
approach from Monsanto last year, Rougier said a partial sale of 
its vegetable seed business was no longer on the agenda. 
    Syngenta said it was in talks about a possible merger and 
weighing a number of options. These included discussions with 
China's state-owned ChemChina, U.S. seeds giant Monsanto  MON.N  
and others, it said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N14X423 
    Vilmorin had said in October it would look at Syngenta's 
vegetable seeds activities if the Swiss chemicals group were to 
sell, but had stressed that the benefits were not obvious and 
the price might be too high.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1261W1 
    ($1 = 0.9220 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Alexander 
Smith) 
 ((Sybille.deLaHamaide@thomsonreuters.com; +331 4949 5145; 
Reuters Messaging: 
sybille.delahamaide.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: FRANCE VILMORIN/