Bayer CropScience's vegetable seed business Nunhems acquires US lettuce seed company Paragon Seed
Bayer CropScience announced that its vegetable seed business Nunhems has acquired the U.S. seed company Paragon Seed Inc.. Based in Salinas, California, Paragon Seed specialises in the breeding, production and sales of lettuce varieties. The company with sales of US-Dollar 8.5 million 2006 [approximately EUR 5.8 million] belongs to the marketleaders in the United States in this segment and supplies the U.S. market as well as Mexico. With this step Nunhems strengthens its position in the lettuce seed market in the Americas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of Paragon is our fourth transaction in the vegetable seed segment this year. This clearly shows that we are committed to develop our promising vegetable seed business towards future growth", said Prof. Friedrich Berschauer, chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience.
And Douwe Zijp, Chief Executive Officer of Nunhems added: "Through this acquisition we can combine Paragon's expertise in breeding and seed production with Nunhems' know-how in breeding disease resistant varieties and Nunhems' molecular breeding capabilities."
Vic Heintzberger, President of Paragon Seed Inc., comments: "By becoming a part of Nunhems we will ensure that our genetics and our seed production expertise will be supported on a global scale and developed further so that we can offer growers new choices for lettuce seeds."
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