“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. 周一表示，将以 $18 亿美元的价格收购 Auriga Industries A/S 的子公司丹麦作物保护公司 Cheminova A/S。
“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 将保留为一个单独的运营部门。
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 打算在关闭后继续运营目前由 Cheminova 运营的所有制造设施。这包括位于丹麦和印度的活性成分生产设施以及位于丹麦、印度、德国、澳大利亚、意大利和英国的制剂设施。
FMC 每年在作物保护研发上的投资超过 $1.5 亿，该公司表示，此次收购预计将于 2015 年初完成，并需满足惯例成交条件和监管部门的批准。它将通过承诺的债务融资融资。 FMC 预计通过提高生产和运营效率以及改善市场准入来实现协同效应。 FMC 预计该交易将在收购完成后的第一个全年增加调整后的收益。
高盛担任财务顾问，Wachtell、Lipton、Rosen & Katz 担任 FMC 与此次收购有关的法律顾问。花旗集团提供了额外的财务建议和承诺的债务融资。