Sinochem Corp., China’s biggest integrated agricultural company with fertilizer, pesticide and seed product, has offered to buy Victoria, Australia-based Nufarm for US$2.4 billion in China’s second attempt to takeover the farm chemicals producer, reports Semana Laboral. En 2007, un consorcio liderado por China National Chemical Corp., o ChemChina, lanzó una oferta por Nufarm que se calculaba en ese momento en aproximadamente $2.600 millones, pero el plan se vino abajo antes de que pudiera completarse.
Nufarm, which makes herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals used in farming, reported that it had entered into a nonbinding proposal for Sinochem to buy all of Nufarm’s shares for approximately $11.32 each, valuing the company at about $2.4 billion. On Sept. 28, 2009, Nufarm said its net profit for the year to July 31 had fallen 42% to $70 million.
The latest deal requires approval from Australia’s foreign investment review board and the government. Treasurer Wayne Swan has said he will only sign off on large foreign investment deals if they are in the national interest.