OREANDA-NEWS. Bayer today announced the completion of the sale of the Consumer business from Environmental Science, a business unit of the Crop Science division, to SBM. The Consumer business encompasses the Bayer Garden and Bayer Advanced businesses in Europe and North America. With the completion of the sale, 220 dedicated employees as well as the entire product portfolios of Bayer Garden and Bayer Advanced, including the home and garden R&D pipeline, and for a transitional period a license to use the Bayer brand, have been transferred to SBM. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Bayer Garden and Bayer Advanced provide innovative home and garden solutions for hobby gardeners and homeowners. SBM is a leader in the home and garden market in France and develops, formulates and produces crop and non-crop solutions for professionals and consumers.

“We are pleased to have successfully completed the sale of this business to SBM,” said Dr. Jacqueline Applegate, President of the Environmental Science Business Unit and Member of the Crop Science Executive Committee. “This transaction represents a significant milestone in the transformation of Environmental Science, one that enables us to further strengthen our market leadership position with a single-minded focus on the unique needs of our customers in the Professional business.”

“SBM has been a fantastic partner throughout the process and we are certain our Consumer employees, customers and partners will benefit from working with this great company,” Dr. Applegate added.

Bayer Garden and Bayer Advanced were part of Environmental Science, a business unit within Bayer’s Crop Science division, which offers a range of high-quality weed and pest control products for professionals and consumers. The turnover of the Environmental Science unit in 2015 was EUR 819 million, to which the Bayer Garden and Bayer Advanced businesses contributed EUR 239 million.

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015.