Syngenta to sell sugar beet business

Swiss biotech giant Syngenta will sell its sugar beet seed business to Danish company DLF Seeds.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval by authorities.

Financial details of the transaction, announced on Friday, were not disclosed.

The CEO of Roskilde-headquartered DLF Seeds, Truels Damsgaard, said Syngenta’s sugar beet seeds business was a good match with its own strategic goals.

Sugar beet seeds is a natural extension of our seeds business and it is an interesting high value crop," he said. "We see significant synergies within our technology and plant breeding tools benefiting both the sugar beet business and the forage and turf seed business.”

Europe, Middle East and Africa are the most important regions for Syngenta in terms of sales, and last year its sales of sugar beet increased.

Jeff Rowe, president of Syngenta's global and North American seed division said the agreement with DLF Seeds would “leverage the leading germplasm and growth potential of Syngenta’s Sugar Beet seeds worldwide".

Globally, the Swiss seed and pesticide company that itself is being acquired by ChemChina, reported sales of $12.8bn (€11.4bn) last year.