Two Biological Companies Announce Merger Agreement
Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. and Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), Inc. have entered into a merger that will combine Bioceres’ expertise in bionutrition and seed care products with MBI’s leadership in the development of biological crop protection and plant health solutions, creating a global leader in the development and commercialization of sustainable agricultural solutions. The companies together operate in 46 countries with approximately 640 employees, including two wholly owned manufacturing facilities and research and development (R&D) facilities located in Davis, CA, and Rosario, Argentina.
“We are very excited about the value creation that will result from this combination for customers, employees, and investors,” says Bioceres Chief Executive Officer Federico Trucco. “By combining our current commercialized products and pipelines, we will be in a position to serve all major agriculture input categories with low environmental impact, highly efficacious, biological based solutions. MBI’s commercial footprint in North America and Europe will strongly complement our existing efforts in these geographies, while Bioceres’ leadership in Latin America will provide an excellent channel for MBI’s portfolio in these important row-crop markets. Together, we will create a winning platform in one of the most dynamic segments of agriculture.”
“Our merger has the potential to accelerate global reach, broaden our product offerings, and expand our R&D programs,” says Kevin Helash, Chief Executive Officer of Marrone Bio. “Consumer and grower demand is accelerating for agricultural products that help produce safe, affordable food in a sustainable manner. We will be able to further serve that market opportunity and provide our distribution partners and our growers with greater returns on investment.”
“We are excited that the scale created by this combination with Bioceres can accelerate and expand the commercialization of Marrone’s existing products. The combined companies will have the quality, experience and depth of management as well as the financial resources to realize the full potential of Marrone’s pipeline,” says Dwight Anderson, Managing Partner at Ospraie Ag Science LLC, the largest shareholder of MBI.
The combined company will have a diverse customer base, product portfolio, and geographic reach across a wide range of crops, positioned to serve the massive market opportunity emerging from the bio-reduction and replacement of chemical ag inputs. Key products in the combined companies’ R&D pipelines include Bioceres’ HB4 drought tolerance program in wheat and soybeans and MBI’s breakthrough research in bioherbicides. Additionally, MBI recently submitted regulatory packages for its novel bioinsecticide/bionematicide products MBI-306 and MBI-206 to the U.S. EPA and Brazilian authorities for approval, respectively.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar 2022, subject to the approval of MBI shareholders, regulatory clearance, and other customary closing conditions.
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