March 1, 2005

Monsanto plants seed money to buy Seminis

In a move to capitalize on the trend toward healthier diets, agriculture products company Monsanto Co. will pay $1 billion to purchase vegetable and fruit seed company Seminis Inc.

Monsanto will also assume about $400 million in debt and potentially make a performance-based payment of up to $125 million by the end of fiscal 2007.

Monsanto, a developer of genetic modifications for crops like soybeans and corn, said biotechnology modifications to Seminis’ fruits and vegetable lines were an option over the long term.

Seminis, which supplies more than 3,500 seed varieties to commercial fruit and vegetable growers, dealers, distributors, and wholesalers, currently offers a genetically modified squash, Monsanto officials said.

Oxnard, Calif.-based Seminis’ seeds sell in more than 150 countries around the world.

In an effort to diversify, Monsanto has been shifting its business focus from the herbicide chemical business to the seed industry.