“Cheminova’s direct market access in Europe, combined with its strong position in Latin America, will help bring greater balance to our business. Its technology will allow us to expand our position in existing crop segments and provide accelerated access to additional crops, such as cereals.” –FMC CEO Pierre Brondeau
FMC Corp. dijo el lunes que adquirirá la empresa danesa de protección de cultivos Cheminova A / S, una subsidiaria de Auriga Industries A / S, por $1.8 mil millones.
“Cheminova is a company that we have long considered to be an attractive potential partner. It follows a similar strategic approach to FMC in applying technology to deliver solutions to its customers, and has a highly complementary product portfolio and geographic footprint. This transaction will broaden our Agricultural Solutions portfolio and significantly strengthen our market access in key agricultural end markets,” said Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, chairman and CEO.
“Cheminova’s direct market access in Europe, combined with its strong position in Latin America, will help bring greater balance to our business. Its technology will allow us to expand our position in existing crop segments and provide accelerated access to additional crops, such as cereals. It will also strengthen our offerings to existing customers, especially in sugarcane, soybeans and cotton,” he said.
Brondeau added that Cheminova brings complementary technologies in insecticides and herbicides, significantly enhances FMC’s fungicide portfolio and adds a growing micronutrient business. “Cheminova has a portfolio of more than 60 active ingredients, over 2,300 registrations and a pipeline of active ingredients currently under development. It is the addition of this broad suite of technology that is particularly exciting to us, and we firmly expect to increase our pace of new product launches in the coming seasons as a direct result of adding Cheminova’s capabilities to ours,” said Brondeau.
FMC will modify its previously announced separation plans by pursuing a sale of Alkali Chemicals. Commenting on this decision, Brondeau said, “FMC is committed to its strong balance sheet and a sale of Alkali Chemicals will allow us to de-lever to a point that is appropriate for our business profile. Alkali Chemicals is a well-run, highly profitable and cash generative business, and we are confident it will attract many interested buyers. We expect to complete this sale by mid-2015.”
FMC Lithium se mantendrá como un segmento operativo separado.
Jens Due Olsen, Auriga and Cheminova chairman, said, “In FMC, we have found a great new owner and the perfect industrial match. As a successful and highly recognized company, FMC appreciates our manufacturing and formulation capabilities, our strong research, development and registration base, and global organization. FMC brings the scale and financial strength necessary to develop a true world leader within crop protection.”
FMC tiene la intención de continuar operando, después del cierre, todas las instalaciones de fabricación que actualmente opera Cheminova. Esto incluye las instalaciones de fabricación de ingredientes activos en Dinamarca e India y las instalaciones de formulación ubicadas en Dinamarca, India, Alemania, Australia, Italia y el Reino Unido.
FMC, que invierte más de $150 millones al año en I + D de protección de cultivos, dijo que se espera que la adquisición se cierre a principios de 2015 y está sujeta a las condiciones de cierre habituales y las aprobaciones regulatorias. Se financiará con líneas de crédito comprometidas. FMC anticipa lograr sinergias a través de una combinación de ganancias de eficiencia operativa y de producción, así como un mejor acceso al mercado. FMC espera que la transacción aumente las ganancias ajustadas en el primer año completo posterior a la finalización de la adquisición.
Goldman Sachs actuó como asesor financiero y Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz actuaron como asesores legales de FMC en relación con la adquisición. Citigroup brindó asesoría financiera adicional y comprometió líneas de crédito.