Woodland, California and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
October 8, 2012
Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: Dow), announced today that it has acquired the assets of Cal/West Seeds, based in Woodland, Calif. Cal/West is a leading supplier of alfalfa, clover and other crops to seed companies and growers in the U.S., Canada, and 25 other countries around the world. The addition of Cal/West Seeds expands Dow AgroSciences’ alfalfa business and strengthens its global forages business.
“Cal/West fits our business model – they are not only a technology developer in their industry, but also have a strong genetics program which will strengthen our forages business,” said Rolando Meninato, Global Leader, Seeds, Traits and Oils at Dow AgroSciences.
Under the terms of the agreement, Dow AgroSciences will acquire substantially all of Cal/West Seeds’ assets, which include Cal/West and Producer’s Choice brands, Cal/West SRL Argentina, the research and development technologies and genetics programs, as well as the production facilities. Cal/West has R&D and production facilities in California, Washington and Wisconsin.
Paul Frey, CEO of Cal/West Seeds, said, “We believe this opportunity will effectively help achieve many key business objectives, and customers will benefit from access to more diverse technologies to deliver enhanced productivity of alfalfa and forage products. We are excited and looking forward to building a better and stronger forage business under Dow AgroSciences!”
The Cal/West acquisition will complement the Dairyland Seed’s alfalfa platform and research programs and will make the new Dow AgroSciences forages business one of the largest in the industry. Dairyland Seed was acquired by Dow AgroSciences in 2008.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, develops leading-edge crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions to meet the challenges of the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $5.7 billion in 2011. Learn more at www.dowagro.com.
Cal/West Seeds is based in Woodland, California. The company is recognized around the world as a leader in forage breeding and seed production with over 75 years of experience. It was one of the first private forage breeding companies in the United States original established by seed producers’ that wanted an orderly path to market with improved varieties. The company is a leader in developing new value added traits using the latest technologies while maintaining a broad germplasm base to meet the needs of forage producers worldwide.
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