Syngenta Acquires Maribo Sugar Beet Seed Business

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|27 May 2010

BASEL, Switzerland — Syngenta has signed an agreement to acquire the Denmark-based Maribo Seed sugar beet business from Nordic Sugar, a subsidiary of Nordzucker AG, according to a news release. The price of $52.8 million will include $6.1 million contingent payments on a cash and debt free basis. Syngenta will receive the seed production and sales activities of Maribo Seed, as well as the Maribo brand name.

Maribo seed was created in 1920. In 2009, sales of the acquired activities were approximately $49 million, with sugar beet seed sales in 35 countries. Beet sugar accounts for around 30% of the world’s sugar production and is grown on around four million hectares worldwide, mostly in the EU, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the US. The global sugar beet seeds market is currently valued at around $750 million.

The transaction is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities

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