Ghent, Belgium 
13 November 2012

Devgen NV (Euronext Brussels: DEVG), the agro-biotech company that shapes the field of hybrid rice in India and Southeast Asia and innovates in crop protection technologies, hereby reports that Syngenta today announced the commencement of its tender offer for all outstanding shares and warrants in Devgen.

In today’s press release, Syngenta specified that the acceptance period for the tender offer opens on 14 November and is scheduled to close on 5 December at 16:00 (Central European Time). The results of the tender offer will be published on 12 December and, if the offer is successful, settlement will take place on 17 December 2012.

Devgen’s board of directors unanimously supports the bid. The board has issued a memorandum of reply whereby it provides its formal point of view on the bid and the prospectus document. The memorandum of reply forms part of the prospectus document and was approved, together with the prospectus document, by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) on 8 November 2012.

The prospectus document, including Devgen’s memorandum of reply, is available at no cost at the counters of the receiving and paying agent bank, KBC Bank NV or KBC Securities NV (or via +32 (0)3 283 29 70). An electronic version of the prospectus in English and Dutch as well as a summary of the prospectus in French are available on Devgen’s website www.devgen.com and the following websites: www.kbc.be, www.kbcsecurities.be and www.syngenta.com.

Devgen is shaping the field of hybrid rice in India and Southeast Asia and helps farmers meet the productivity increases needed to grow more food on less land using fewer inputs. Thereto, Devgen is using advanced biotechnology and molecular breeding technology to develop next generation hybrid rice seeds:

• Devgen is developing the next generation of hybrid rice, improving yield, seed productivity, grain quality, and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress factors. Devgen strongly believes that this hybrid rice technology has the potential to drive the accelerated conversion of conventional rice to hybrid rice.
• Anticipating the need to increase insect and drought/heat tolerance in rice to a level that is beyond what can be achieved with traditional breeding, Devgen is creating a portfolio of biotech traits using own technology as well as in-licensed technologies.
• Devgen has established an integrated seed business in India and Southeast Asia through which its rice crops and technologies reach the market. In India, Devgen has complemented its hybrid rice business with three other strategic crops that it produces with its own technologies: hybrid sorghum, pearl millet and sunflower.

Devgen innovates in crop protection research and environment induced stress tolerance for its own crops and provides technology to corporate partners. Since 1997, Devgen has conducted pioneering research in RNAi-based crop protection applications and has developed enabling technology, RNAi sprays and RNAi-based biotech traits for itself and on behalf of corporate partners.

In its Crop Protection unit, Devgen has developed a novel nematicide, an agrochemical product that protects crops from damage by parasitic nematodes and has superior environmental and worker exposure profile compared to existing solutions. This product is currently sold in Turkey and was recently introduced on the market in the US.

Incorporated in 1997, Devgen has offices in Ghent (Belgium), and has subsidiaries in Singapore, Hyderabad (India), Yogyakarta (Indonesia), General Santos (the Philippines) and Delaware (US), totaling over 250 staff.

Website: http://www.devgen.com

Published: November 13, 2012