France: Maisadour, Terrena plan to combine seed businesses

French farm and food cooperative groups Maisadour and Terrena plan to combine their seed activities with the aim of becoming a leading player on the European market, the two said on Tuesday. The project, which still needs to be finalised, would cover crop and vegetable seeds and have a combined revenue of 260 million euros ($290 million) and 1,100 employees, Maisadour and Terrena said in a joint statement.

This compares to French peer Vilmorin, the world's fourth largest seed maker with sales amounting to 1.3 billion euros in 2014-2015, of which about half was generated in Europe.

Maisadour and Terrena said their objective was that the joint company would become a leading seed maker in Europe, supported by expansion plans.

"Growth would be linked to international development and potentially external growth through alliances," a Maisadour spokeswoman said.

Swiss agricultural chemicals group Syngenta said last week it intends to sell its vegetable seeds business to fund plans to boost shareholder returns after rejecting a takeover approach from U.S. giant Monsanto.

In addition to seeds, Terrena, with revenues of 4.7 billion euros in 2014, has activities throughout the farm and food sectors, from crops and machinery to meat.

Maisadour, centered in southwestern France, produces crops and food products such as foie gras and poultry. It posted sales of 1.55 billion euros.

Source: reuters

Publication date: Wed 9 Sep 2015