Melbourne, Australia
December 1, 2011

Nuseed, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nufarm Limited, today announced the acquisition of
Seeds 2000 Inc, based in Breckenridge, Minnesota, USA.

Seeds 2000 is a seed research, production, sales and marketing company focused primarily on the development of elite oil and confection sunflower hybrids that benefit both the farmer and end-use food customer. The company has significantly expanded its international activities in recent years and today conducts development and sales activities in the USA, Canada, China, Argentina and a number of European markets.

Nuseed is a global seed and traits company focused on the enhancement of food and feed value through seed technology. The company develops proprietary canola, sunflower, and sorghum products that are marketed in over 25 countries. Nuseed has existing sunflower breeding and marketing operations based in California, Argentina, Serbia and Australia.
Sunflower is an important oilseed and snack food crop, occupying approximately 24 million hectares of land globally and producing approximately 32 million metric tonnes of grain annually.

Seeds 2000 President, Steve Kent, said he expected the transition to be seamless and to facilitate additional opportunities to expand the business in both the US domestic market and globally.

In 2009, Seeds 2000 received a growth investment from the Rural American Fund, a Chicago based private equity firm focused on making partnership investments in growing agricultural companies.

“Seeds 2000 is a fantastic company and we are very pleased with this transaction for the teams at Seeds 2000 and Nuseed”, said Tom Karlson, Founding Principal of Rural American Fund.

Nuseed Americas VP, Andy Thomas said, “Sunflower is a key crop for us. This investment provides a broader sunflower footprint in global markets and a pipeline of genetics complementary to our existing business.

“We look forward to a great future with Seeds 2000 employees and customers.”
 

Website: http://www.nuseed.com

Published: December 1, 2011