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SYNGENTA

Syngenta turns down Monsanto takeover offer

Swiss farm chemicals powerhouse Syngenta said on Friday it had rejected a $45-billion takeover bid by US seed giant Monsanto, saying the offer was too low.

Published: 8 May 2015 10:08 CEST
Syngenta turns down Monsanto takeover offer
Syngenta biology building in Stein, Switzerland. Photo: Syngenta

In a statement, Syngenta confirmed April reports that Monsanto had made an offer for a merger that would have formed a world market leader in both seeds and crop chemicals.
   
"The Board of Syngenta confirms that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Monsanto to acquire the company at a price of 449 Swiss francs ($486) per Syngenta share with approximately 45 percent in cash," said the statement.
   
"The offer fundamentally undervalues Syngenta's prospects and underestimates the significant execution risks, including regulatory and public scrutiny at multiple levels in many countries," it said.
   
Syngenta shares soared after the news on the Swiss stock exchange, rising to 381.90 francs at 9:28 am  — a 14.7 percent rise over Thursday's close.
   
The US firm had timed the offer with a slackening in Syngenta's performance but the Basel-based firm's chief said the business outlook was good.
   
"Syngenta is the world leader in crop protection, the number three in seeds and the first company to introduce integrated solutions for growers," chairman Michel Demare said. 

"Monsanto's proposal does not reflect the outstanding growth prospects of Syngenta's integrated strategy," Demare said.
   
"While Syngenta's valuation is currently affected by short term currency and commodity price movements, the business outlook is strong, with emerging markets accounting for over 50 percent of our sales," he added.
   
Rumours of a possible merger between the two giants also surfaced nearly a year ago, in June 2014, but nothing came of them.
   
Syngenta was formed in 2000 by the merger of Novartis Agribusiness and Zeneca Agrochemicals.

Unia, the union representing workers at Syngenta's plant in Monthey, in the canton of Valais, announced on Thursday that the company was planning to lay off 116 of 900 workers there.

The canton said it had been informed by the company that the layoffs would take place between now and 2018.

Syngenta employs around 28,000 worldwide and 3,400 in Switzerland at seven sites, including Monthey.

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SYNGENTA

Swiss NGO links Syngenta pesticide to Indian farmer deaths

The Swiss NGO Public Eye called on Tuesday for an export ban on the pesticide Polo, produced by agriculture giant Syngenta, implicating it in the death of 20 Indian farmers last year.

Published: 18 September 2018 19:38 CEST
Swiss NGO links Syngenta pesticide to Indian farmer deaths
A man outside Sygenta HQ in Basel in 2017. File photo: AFP

Syngenta, bought by ChemChina for $43 billion in 2017 in China's largest ever foreign takeover, has rejected the allegations by Public Eye.

“There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Syngenta's product Polo was at all responsible for the incidents that have occurred,” the company said in a statement. 

Last September, officials in the western Indian state of Maharashtra reported that 20 farmers had died and hundreds of others were in hospital after inhaling poisonous pesticides while spraying crops.

After visiting the affected Yavatmal region and interviewing farmers and their relatives, Public Eye said there was strong evidence that Polo — specifically its active agent diafenthiuron — was responsible for the 
poisoning. 

Public Eye noted that while the evidence was not conclusive, the spraying of Polo was a common link among those who died or fell sick. 

The NGO also said farmers in Yavatmal likely inhaled excessive amounts of the insecticide last year as cotton plants grew higher than normal, forcing them to spray closer to their mouths. 

Officials in Maharashtra reportedly opened a criminal investigation targeting Syngenta over the deaths, but the status of the probe is not known. 

The European Union banned diafenthiuron in 2002. 

The Swiss government pulled it from the market in 2009 “for reasons of health or environmental protection”, according to official documents. 

Syngenta branded Public Eye's allegations “salacious and incorrect”.

In response to the spate of deaths and illnesses, the company said it “conducted stewardship programs in the district and adjoining regions, conducted doctor training programs and established mobile health clinics to 
support treatment of farmers who may have been affected.”

Syngenta noted that Polo “has been successfully and safely used by Indian farmers across the country for the last 14 years,” and that diafenthiuron is registered in 25 countries worldwide. 

Export ban?

While diafenthiuron cannot be used in Switzerland, it is produced in Monthey, in the Valais canton. 

Under current Swiss law, Syngenta has to inform the federal government about its diafenthiuron exports, including quantities and destination countries. 

Bern is then responsible for informing the recipient countries, so they are aware of the risks. 

Public Eye says this does not go far enough and that companies based in Switzerland should be barred from exporting products deemed unsafe for Swiss people. 

“The Swiss authorities must put an end to this policy of double standards,” the NGO said. 

Swiss voters will this Sunday vote in two referendums aimed at ensuring foodstuffs produced in Switzerland are sustainable, healthy and fairly-produced.

It urged backing for a motion introduced by federal lawmaker Lisa Mazzone calling for the prohibition of “the export of pesticides whose use has been banned in Switzerland due to their effects on human health or the environment.”