Spicing Up the Americas Region, MAI Strengthens its Presence in Chile

TEL-AVIV, Israel, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Enhancing MAI's capabilities in an important and growing South American market

Acquisition boosts ChileAgro's product offering to customers

The Makhteshim Agan Group ("MAI" or the "Company"), a global leader in crop protection solutions, and ChileAgro Solutions (ChileAgro), a Chilean plant nutrition and abiotic stress relief solutions company, today announced that MAI has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of a majority stake in ChileAgro.  This acquisition will provide MAI with a marketing and distribution platform in the Chilean agrochemicals market, and a broader, more diverse product offering to serve farmers in this market.

Chile represents one of the most advanced and competitive economies of South America, with a high value placed on agricultural technology.  Established in 1998, ChileAgro is a privately held company focusing on the development, marketing and distribution of plant nutrition products and agricultural biostimulants, both complementary to plant protection products. ChileAgro specializes in providing innovative solutions to customers, with a focus on fruit producers.  This concentration will allow MAI to further improve and expand its activities in Chile through emphasis on the customer and portfolio differentiation.

This transaction marks another step in MAI's global geographical expansion strategy.

Shaul Friedland, CEO of MAI's Americas region, said, "We welcome ChileAgro to MAI and are excited to have their experienced and highly skilled team be a part of the Group.  Their excellent positioning within the Chilean market will add greatly to our long-term growth in South America.  ChileAgro is well known in Chile for its close relationships with its customers and its professionalism, with a comprehensive knowledge of the domestic market.  We feel that their focus on products that provide added-value for farmers in various crops perfectly fits into MAI's global vision of portfolio differentiation."

Rodrigo Saavedra, Co-Founder and CEO of ChileAgro Solutions, commented, "This transaction gives us access to MAI's extensive product portfolio which will in turn allow us to provide even more comprehensive and innovative solutions to our customers.  We are excited about this new partnership and are confident that it will position ChileAgro as a market leader in Chile, leading to significant growth in the long-term."

About Makhteshim Agan

Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd. is a leading manufacturer and distributor worldwide of crop protection solutions and the largest off-patent player in the industry.

The Company supplies efficient solutions to farmers that assist them in combating disease and increasing yields. In 2012, the Company's revenues were over $2.83 billion, and it is ranked seventh in the world in the overall agro-chemicals industry. The Company is characterized by its know-how, high-level technological-chemical abilities, expertise in product registration, and observance of strict standards of environmental protection, stringent quality control and global marketing and distribution channels.

Makhteshim Agan Group sells its crop protection products in over 120 countries and together with its strategically located global manufacturing and distribution facilities delivers simplicity in agriculture around the globe.

http://www.ma-industries.com

About ChileAgro

ChileAgro is a leading company in the Chilean plant nutrition and high-tech organic products markets.  Since its founding, it has been uniquely focused on high standard solutions, quality and efficiency.  A significant portion of their products have international organic certification.

In addition to its plant nutrition lines, the Company specializes in abiotic stress, biostimulation, phytoregulation and elicitation of plants as helpful tools in this area, especially in the Chilean fruit sector, which has high demand for solutions that enable export to distant destinations.

ChileAgro is characterized by the constant search for new tools that meet the requirements of their customers and staying ahead of the constant changes and challenges experienced by the global agricultural industry.

Since 2006, the Company has developed a highly efficient line of organic fungicides which have enjoyed strong market acceptance, opening a range of possibilities to the plant protection market.

http://www.chileagro.cl

Contact:
Anna Wood
Communication Specialist
Email: [email protected]
+972(0)73-232-1131

SOURCE Makhteshim Agan Group