Monsanto And Remington Announce New Joint Venture On Sorghum

(RTTNews) - Monsanto Co.(MON) and Remington Holding Company, LLC, the parent company of a provider of customized seed production, processing, logistics and related services to the global seed industry, announced that they are forming a new joint venture with an initial strategic focus on sorghum.

The joint venture is designed to drive a higher level of investment and innovation in, and provide greater market access to, this important global cereal crop.

Monsanto and Remington said the transaction is expected to close following customary regulatory approval.

Monsanto and Remington will establish the joint venture, which will be called Innovative Seed Solutions, LLC, through the contribution by Monsanto of its global sorghum breeding business - including its elite sorghum germplasm pool and related intellectual property - and the contribution by Remington of cash. In a related transaction, a subsidiary of Remington will purchase Monsanto's sorghum production assets in the United States. The joint venture partners have valued these transactions at approximately $169.5 million with a total cash payment of $110.5 million by Remington.

Going forward, Monsanto and Remington said the new joint venture will be governed by an operational board with senior executive representation from both companies. Together with this board, the joint venture will be led by Dan Zinck, who will serve as chief executive officer and will work with an international team to lead research, commercial and growth aspects of the business. Remington and Monsanto will have ownership stakes in the joint venture of 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Monsanto noted that the new joint venture will help expand the commercial and technology reach of the elite germplasm, and it will remain focused on delivering important product offerings for sorghum growers so that they can continue to benefit from new innovations in the crop. Monsanto said it will source sorghum products derived from the joint venture and offer these products through its Asgrow, DEKALB, Channel and regional seed brand dealer networks globally.