The acquisition of AgraQuest significantly boosts Bayer CropScience´s ability to make available to customers worldwide a comprehensive range of integrated and sustainable crop solutions based on seeds, traits and combined chemical and biological crop protection including seed treatment. Biological pest management solutions, often also referred to as Green Products, will play a significant role in propelling farming`s future. Bayer CropScience plans to achieve EUR 3 billion in its fruits and vegetables business by 2020 – and AgraQuest will add further to this goal.

“This acquisition strengthens our strategically important fruits and vegetables business,” Sandra Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience said. “The global market for Green Products is expected to increase significantly over the years to come and we see additional growth opportunities in all agricultural crops as well as for our Environmental Science business and for Bayer´s Animal Health division.”

“We are pleased to become part of Bayer CropScience and will continue to design new green technologies, now under the Bayer company umbrella,” said Marcus Meadows-Smith, CEO of AgraQuest. “The combined talents and capabilities of Bayer CropScience and AgraQuest will serve to accelerate the market introduction of highly innovative customized solutions worldwide.”

In July 2012, Bayer CropScience announced its plans to acquire AgraQuest, headquartered in Davis, California, USA for a purchase price of US$ 425 Million (about EUR 340 million) plus milestone payments.

AgraQuest offers customers well-established Green Products available today in more than 30 countries. Additionally, it has a promising pipeline of new biological control agents. Bayer CropScience plans to further invest in the R&D site in Davis, which is intended to become a world class center of expertise and excellence in Green Products. Furthermore, Bayer CropScience plans to expand existing manufacturing operations of Green Products at Tlaxcala site in Mexico.

About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, seeds and crop protection as well as 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 seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company 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.

Contact:
Bayer CropScience AG
Utz Klages, Tel. +49 2173 38-3125
E-Mail: utz.klages@bayer.com

Bayer CropScience LP
Beth Roden, Tel. +1 877-879-6162
E-Mail: beth.roden@bayer.com

Find more information at www.bayercropscience.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Bayer CropScience acquires US-based biological company
AgraQuest for close to US$ 500 million

· Unique technology platform and promising biological pipeline
· Wide range of established green product brands
· Purchase includes R&D and manufacturing facilities

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.

Download Full Article (PDF).

Download PDF Article: Biopesticides: The Next Line of Defense for Resistance Management

DAVIS, Calif. and MISSISSAUGA, Ontario (May 2, 2012) – AgraQuest, Inc. and Premier Tech Home & Garden announced today that they have agreed to terms for a supply agreement that will have AgraQuest produce and package fungicide products for the Green Earth line from Premier Tech Home & Garden for the Canadian retail market. Under the terms of the agreement, AgraQuest technology based on its patented strain of Bacillus subtilis QST 713 will be used in Green Earth biofungicide products for the home and garden marketplace. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Naturally derived, Bacillus subtilis QST 713 is the same active ingredient that powers AgraQuest’s fungicide SERENADE®, used by commercial farmers and growers for nearly a decade to treat fruits, vegetables and canola for common bacterial and fungal diseases.

“The technology and expertise of AgraQuest are a great fit for our Green Earth line,” said Paul Lefebvre, Director, New Business Development for Premier Tech. The initial product using AgraQuest technology will be 24-ounce ready-to-use bottles with national distribution in Canada for the 2012 season.

“We are very excited about our collaboration with Premier Tech; we believe that this is an ideal avenue to expand our footprint in the home and garden marketplace in Canada,” said Mike Miille, President and COO for AgraQuest and head of AgraQuest’s BioInnovations Division. “Collaborating with Premier Tech allows us to more effectively serve mass merchandisers that had previously been outside our distribution focus of independent garden centers and nurseries.”

About Premier Tech
Premier Tech Home & Garden is a business unit of Premier Tech Ltd, a Canadian corporation which, for 85 years now, has been building its know-how and reputation on the various technology-oriented opportunities offered by sphagnum peat moss, an abundant natural resource in Canada. To learn more about Premier Tech Ltd, visit their website at www.premiertech.com.

About AgraQuest, Inc.

AgraQuest, Inc. is a global biotechnology company that focuses on discovering, manufacturing and marketing highly effective pest management 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. For more information on the role AgraQuest innovations will play in Better Food and a Better World, visit www.agraquest.com.

Ambitious Growth Plans for AgraQuest 
http://agraquest.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/FreshInfoarticle040212.pdf

“Unique Biofungicide for Black Sigotoka”  African Farming and Food Processing Magazine, November/December 2011

“2nd Annual Long Beach Indoor Gardening Expo“Maximum Yield Industry News, December 2011