Syngenta to take stake in Sanbei, Chinese seeds company

Syngenta announced today that it agreed to take a 49% minority stake in Sanbei Seed Co Ltd, a leading Chinese corn seeds company headquartered in Longhua, Hebei Province. The transaction is subject to the required approvals from the Chinese authorities. Further details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

“Sanbei is an excellent partner for Syngenta to jointly develop innovative corn seed products to meet the growing demand in China for high-quality, high-yielding corn, which is driven by changing agronomic trends and shifting food patterns”, said Michael Mack, Chief Operating Officer Seeds at Syngenta. “The company has strong commercial operations and an attractive product portfolio. Together with Syngenta’s expertise in corn breeding this will result in improved and broader product availability for Chinese growers.”

Established in 1998, Sanbei is one of the larger high-value corn seeds companies in China. More than 90% of Sanbei’s sales are generated by corn seeds. In 2006, the company reported sales of approximately $30 million. Sanbei has around 500 employees.