De Ruiter Seeds Customers Benefit From Sale of Company to Monsanto
Bergschenhoek, The Netherlands (ots/PRNewswire)
- Accelerated Development of New Innovative Vegetable Seeds in Protected Cultures
Vegetable seeds company De Ruiter Seeds has reached an agreement regarding the sale of the company to Monsanto. With this acquisition De Ruiter Seeds will become Monsanto's 'centre of excellence' for vegetable seeds in protected cultures. De Ruiter Seeds will gain access to Monsanto's world class technology and will maintain its brand name and operational structure.
Biense Visser, Chief Executive Officer of De Ruiter Seeds, says this is an important day for the future of the company. "We are convinced the future of our company and our customers is best served by the sale to Monsanto. Monsanto is a world leader in molecular and breeding technologies. De Ruiter Seeds will gain access to Monsanto's advanced technology and that will give us the opportunity to accelerate the delivery of new and improved varieties of vegetable seeds for protected cultures. Moreover, we can accelerate regional expansion to Asia and South America."
For Kerry Preete, President of Monsanto's vegetable seeds division, De Ruiter Seeds is first choice: "For many years now, De Ruiter Seeds has held a leading position in breeding and producing high quality seeds for protected crops: tomato, peppers, cucumbers and melons. De Ruiter Seeds will become Monsanto's centre of excellence for vegetable seeds in protected cultures. Upon completion of the transaction, Monsanto's vegetable seed business will serve its grower customers through three dedicated platforms. The De Ruiter Seeds business will serve the protected-culture vegetable seed market, Seminis will serve the open field vegetable seed market and the International Seed Group, Inc. (ISG) subsidiary will serve customers of its specific market segments.
Biense Visser will stay on as CEO of De Ruiter Seeds. "We will maintain our operational structure and brand name. Monsanto's interest in De Ruiter Seeds is therefore also a great compliment to our organization and staff." De Ruiter Seeds was founded in 1945 as a family business and grew to become a worldwide family of businesses working close to its clients with over 900 employees in fifteen countries. "The growth has been fantastic, however the competition is very strong and the demands for investments are increasing every year. Monsanto is willing to invest in our people and organization, so we can strengthen our leading position in the high value, protected culture market for vegetable seeds."
The existing operational structure, leadership team and staff of De Ruiter Seeds will be kept in place to operate the business. The know how, professionals and way of working of De Ruiter Seeds are part of the success and therefore important to Monsanto. This acquisition will strengthen De Ruiter Seeds and will accelerate the development of new varieties with more innovative traits to always better serve our customers and the industry
De Ruiter Seeds was advised by Evercore Partners, Allen & Overy and PricewaterhouseCoopers in this transaction.
About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. For more information, please visit the company's web site at http://www.monsanto.com.
About De Ruiter Seeds
De Ruiter Seeds breeds, produces and sells hybrid vegetable seeds for top vegetable products tomato, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, melon and rootstock. De Ruiter Seeds is one of the top breeding companies in the world. For more information please visit the company's web site at http://www.deruiterseeds.com.
Contact:
Contact Media: Marleen van Balkom, De Ruiter Seeds, +31-0-10-5292-674