Syngenta to acquire Pasteuria Bioscience

In Switzerland, Syngenta has agreed to acquire Pasteuria Bioscience, a US-based biotechnology company. Since 2011 Syngenta and Pasteuria have had an exclusive global technology partnership to develop and commercialize biological products to control plant-parasitic nematodes, using the naturally occurring soil bacteria Pasteuria spp. An in-vitro production process will enable the development of cost-effective nematicides with a novel mode of action. The first product will be a seed treatment for soybean cyst nematode to be launched in the USA in 2014. Under the terms of the agreement, Syngenta will acquire Pasteuria Bioscience for aggregate payments of $86 million, with additional deferred payments of up to $27 million.

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