Syngenta's growing empire
Swiss-based Syngenta is the world's #1 agrochemical company, the #3 crop seed company in the world and the #2 in garden (flowers and vegetable) seeds. That share just grew as the company announced the acquisition of US corn and soybean company Golden Harvest. That will boost Syngenta's share of the critical US corn and soy seed market to 15% and 13% respectively.
Syngenta is a relatively new company, the result of the 2000 spin-off and merger of the agricultural assets of European pharmaceutical/chemical giants Novartis and AstraZeneca. Novartis owns a 61% share, while AstraZeneca owns 31%. Aside from the crop and garden seeds, the company produces products like herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. It is a $6 billion company, and is a leader in bioengineering and genetically modified crops and pest controls. It has been strongly involved in biogenic research in rice.
The Triad Business Journal (6/25/2004) quotes Michael Pragnell, CEO of Syngenta:
This acquisition marks the completion of our strategy to develop critical mass in the U.S. corn and soybean market, complementing our leading position in crop protection.
This move by Syngenta follows the recent acquisition of have included Advanta GV (brand name: Garst), a major European seed company in 2004, for 300 million euros.
Golden Harvest Seeds is the largest independent seed company in the US, specializing in corn, soybeans, sorghum, and alfalfa.
The four largest seed companies account for over 70% of all US corn seeds and over 90% of all cotton seeds. Other areas are not so concentrated, but that is an incentive fro further consolidation. The demands of genetically modified seeds and the major marketing and R&D expenses are driving smaller companies out of the picture.
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