Loudwater Trust Limited Disposal (8739G)
04 Juillet 2012 - 8:33AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMLWT
RNS Number : 8739G
Loudwater Trust Limited
04 July 2012
Loudwater Trust Limited
Disposal of investment
4th July 2012
Loudwater Trust Limited ("Loudwater" or the "Company") (AIM:
LWT) is pleased to announce the conditional disposal of its
shareholding in AgraQuest, Inc. to Bayer Cropscience LLC, a
subsidiary of Bayer AG, for an initial cash consideration of
approximately GBP27.3 million or 45.4 pence per share, which
compares to the carrying value of the investment as at 31 March
2012 of GBP6.8 million or 11.3 pence per share and an investment
cost of GBP4.8 million, and the Company's current market
capitalisation of GBP16.0 million or 26.5 pence per share. Of this
amount approximately GBP3.3 million will be initially held in
escrow against potential indemnification claims. In addition there
is contingent consideration payable should AgraQuest achieve
certain performance milestones in future years. The maximum
contingent consideration that could be due to Loudwater is GBP3.5
million. The initial proceeds from the disposal will be used to
make a further cash return to shareholders.
Completion of the disposal is subject to satisfaction of a
number of customary conditions including, regulatory
clearances.
A further announcement will be made in due course on completion,
together with an update on the return of cash to shareholders.
The full text of an announcement by Bayer Cropscience is set out
below.
"Bayer CropScience acquires US-based biological company
AgraQuest for close to US$ 500 million
Monheim, July 3, 2012 - Bayer CropScience announced today that
it has signed an agreement to purchase AgraQuest Inc. for a
purchase price of US$ 425 million (approximately EUR 340 million)
plus milestone payments. AgraQuest, headquartered in Davis,
California, USA, is a global supplier of innovative biological pest
management solutions based on natural microorganisms. This
acquisition will enable Bayer CropScience to build a leading
technology platform for green products and to strengthen its
strategically important fruits and vegetables business, while also
opening new opportunities in other crops and markets. Green
products control a broad spectrum of pests and diseases and offer
farmers integrated pest management programs to minimize development
of resistance and maximize crop yields. The acquisition is subject
to approval by the relevant authorities.
"The growing fruits and vegetables market, which today accounts
for more than 25 percent of our sales, is of strategic importance
for us. We plan to achieve EUR 3 billion sales in this segment by
2020 and with the acquisition of AgraQuest we are underlining our
growth ambitions," said Sandra Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience,
sending a strong signal to the market. "We are the first in our
industry to offer farmers a truly comprehensive range of integrated
crop solutions based on seeds, traits and combined chemical crop
protection and biological control," she added.
The tailor-made portfolio and promising R&D pipeline of
AgraQuest will help Bayer CropScience to build a broad-based
technology platform to bring a new generation of innovative
products to the market. Furthermore, this acquisition will help to
optimally use R&D, manufacturing and market synergies creating
value for both Bayer CropScience and its customers. "AgraQuest
expands our existing biological pest control portfolio centered on
our successful Votivo(TM) biological nematicide, and it allows us
to further leverage the biotechnology platform we have acquired
through Athenix Corporation," said Sandra Peterson.
"We are proud to become part of Bayer CropScience," AgraQuest
CEO Marcus Meadow-Smith commented. "AgraQuest is ideally positioned
in the global biological market and by joining forces with Bayer
CropScience we will be able to develop revolutionary, tailor-made
biological solutions. Every AgraQuest employee is passionate about
developing innovative solutions for better food and a better world,
and being part of a strong global company such as Bayer CropScience
will allow the products developed through their hard work to reach
farmers in every corner of the world." AgraQuest has its own sales
force in the NAFTA crop protection market, and sells its green
products through a network of distributors and partners in other
global regions.
The company's current product portfolio includes
well-established product brands such as Serenade(R) , Rhapsody(R) ,
Sonata(R) and Ballad(R) fungicides and Requiem(R) insecticides,
which provide effective disease and pest control and will
complement Bayer CropScience's product offering. Bayer CropScience
will also leverage AgraQuest's technology platform and its
promising pipeline of new biological control agents. Several new
pipeline products, which include acaracides, fungicides and
nematicides, amongst others, are under development, and have
undergone successful early field evaluations. Through the
acquisition Bayer CropScience will integrate AgraQuest's
state-of-the-art biopesticides production facility in Tlaxcala,
Mexico, as well as the company's R&D site in Davis. AgraQuest
employs a total staff of approximately 250 full-time employees.
AgraQuest products are available today in more than 30 countries
including Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil and European countries
including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. They are
used in diverse market segments such as fruits and vegetables,
broad-acre crops, post-harvest protection, turf, home and garden
and animal health.
About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the
fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer
CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 7.255
billion (2011), is one of the world's leading innovative crop
science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural
pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding
range of products and extensive service backup for modern,
sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications.
Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 21,000 and is
represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is
available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.
About AgraQuest
AgraQuest, Inc. is a global biotechnology company that focuses
on discovering, manufacturing and marketing highly effective
biopesticide products to increase agricultural production. As a
leader in green agriculture and the emerging low chem sector,
AgraQuest is at the forefront of changes in food production by
providing growers with solutions that offer best-in-class control
while reducing the chemical load on the environment and creating
sustainable agriculture opportunities. Through its Agriculture and
BioInnovations divisions, AgraQuest focuses on natural products
designed for pest control and yield improvements for global
agriculture, the garden and in food safety markets. AgraQuest's
major shareholders include Otter Capital, TPG Biotechnology
Partners, Loudwater Investment Partners, Generation Investment
Management, Halcyon Capital, SwissRe and several Swiss sustainable
investment funds. For more information, visit
www.agraquest.com."
-ends-
For further information
Loudwater Investment Partners Limited
Edward Forwood +44 (0)20 3372 6400
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Andrew Potts +44 (0)20 7459 3600
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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