FMC Acquires Rovral® and Sportak® Fungicides From Bayer CropScience

Acquisition strengthens FMC Agricultural Products' fungicide platform, streamlines Bayer CropScience portfolio.

News provided by

Dec 06, 2011, 08:30 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) today announced that it has acquired Rovral® iprodione and Sportak® prochloraz fungicides from Bayer CropScience. The transaction includes the use of these two fungicide families and their product trademarks for agricultural use outside of Europe.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111101/NE97440LOGO )

"We are pleased to add these established fungicides to FMC's broad portfolio of herbicides and insecticides," said Milton Steele, president, FMC Agricultural Products Group. "These are highly effective, resistance management technologies that are used worldwide, primarily in the tree, fruit and vegetable markets, as well as in a wide range of crops, including cereals, canola, and soybeans. They are brands well recognized by leading agricultural customers around the world. FMC will continue to develop and extend these great additions to our product portfolio."

Bayer CropScience is currently restructuring its Crop Protection business -- by rejuvenating its portfolio and increasing its focus on key brand families. "This divestment is in line with our global strategy to optimize our portfolio and to build a solid foundation for profitable growth," explained Sandra Peterson, Chief Executive Officer of Bayer CropScience. "And it is an excellent opportunity for us to extend our relationship with FMC, an important player in the agricultural industry."

According to Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, chief executive officer, and chairman, "This transaction is another major step in FMC's Vision 2015 growth strategy. We continue to execute our long-term plan to grow FMC organically and through targeted acquisitions that supplement our technology portfolio and strengthen our positions in critical businesses, markets and regions." Brondeau added, "This is an exciting acquisition for FMC, and we've been pleased to work with a well respected leader in this field, Bayer CropScience."

Rovral® and Sportak® are registered in more than 50 countries, and are used in a wide range of crops, including cereals, canola, soybean, rice, potatoes, fruits and vegetables. They offer excellent fungicidal performance in terms of disease control, are well suited to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies, and are useful tools in anti-resistance programs.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

About FMC Corporation
FMC Corporation is a diversified chemical company serving agricultural, industrial and consumer markets globally for more than a century with innovative solutions, applications and quality products. With sales of approximately $3.1 billion, the company employs approximately 5,000 people throughout the world and operates its businesses in three segments: Agricultural Products, Specialty Chemicals and Industrial Chemicals. For more information, visit www.fmc.com.

Rovral® and Sportak® are registered trademarks of FMC Corporation.

Forward-Looking Statements -- Bayer CropScience
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Forward-Looking Statement -- FMC Corporation
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Act of 1995: Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning specific factors described in FMC Corporation's 2010 Form 10-K and other SEC filings. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. FMC Corporation does not intend to update this information and disclaims any legal obligation to the contrary. Historical information is not necessarily indicative of future performance.

SOURCE FMC Corporation