Monsanto and Remington forms JV for sorghum

Monsanto Company and Remington Holding Company LLC, the parent company of a leading provider of customised seed production, processing, logistics and related services to the global seed industry, have formed a new joint venture with an initial strategic focus on sorghum. The joint venture is designed to drive a higher level of investment and innovation in, and provide greater market access to, this important global cereal crop.
 
Monsanto and Remington will establish the joint venture, which will be called Innovative Seed Solutions, LLC, through the contribution by Monsanto of its global sorghum breeding business - including its elite sorghum germplasm pool and related intellectual property - and the contribution by Remington of cash. In a related transaction, a subsidiary of Remington will purchase Monsanto’s sorghum production assets in the US. The joint venture partners have valued these transactions at approximately $ 169.5 million with a total cash payment of $110.5 million by Remington.
 
Remington and Monsanto will have ownership stakes in the joint venture of 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
 
Remington noted that with today’s announcement, it has expanded its partnership-focused business model and strengthened its position as a multi-national service provider to the retail seed industry - improving product access for a diverse set of global, national, and regional customers that market and sell seed to growers.
 
The new joint venture will help Monsanto expand the commercial and technology reach of the elite germplasm, and it will remain focused on delivering important product offerings for sorghum growers so that they can continue to benefit from new innovations in the crop. Monsanto said it will source sorghum products derived from the joint venture and offer these products through its Asgrow, Dekalb, Channel and regional seed brand dealer networks globally.