BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Empresas La Moderna S.A. de C.V. deal

July 6, 1998 7:00 AM UTC

Empresas La Moderna's Seminis Inc. subsidiary (Saticoy, Calif.) acquired vegetable seed companies ChoongAng Seed Co. Ltd. (Seoul, Korea) and Hungnong Seed Co. Ltd. (Sariwon, Korea) for $117 million. ChoongAng has annual revenues of 60 billion Korean Won (US$43.3 million). Hungnong's annual sales are not publicly available.

Separately, Seminis and LSL Biotechnologies Inc. (Tucson, Ariz.) will form a new company to produce and market improved fruit and vegetable varieties. The venture will focus on the development of the RIN gene, which extends the shelf life of tomatoes by altering their ripening traits. Seminis will make a $27 million investment for a 50 percent stake in the venture. ...