OREANDA-NEWS. Bayer CropScience has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire SeedWorks India Pvt. Ltd., based in Hyderabad. The company is specialized in breeding, production, and marketing of hybrid seeds of tomato, hot pepper, okra and gourds. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SeedWorks India was founded in 1998 and has research and seed processing locations in Bangalore and Hyderabad respectively. The company employs 180 full-time employees and markets its seed under the US Agriseeds™ brand to growers across India. In fiscal year 2013/2014, the company generated sales of INR 1,035 million (EUR 12 million).

The purchase will strengthen Bayer CropScience’s vegetable seed business in India. “This is an excellent opportunity to underpin our leading market position in India in strategic crops like tomato, hot pepper and okra,” said Joachim Schneider, Head of Vegetable Seeds at Bayer CropScience. “We will be able to offer our customers an even broader choice of high-yielding hybrid seed varieties adapted to the country’s diverse and challenging growing conditions.”

“We are delighted by the opportunity to join the vegetable seed business of Bayer,” said Balaji Nukal, Managing Director of SeedWorks India. “The financial and technical resources of Bayer will further strengthen our ability to bring the highest quality seeds to our farmers, and the breadth of activity afforded by this affiliation will open a world of opportunity to our employees.”

“India is expected to become the world’s most populated country, passing China around 2028 and therefore faces a fast-growing demand for affordable food,” emphasized Schneider. “By strengthening our footprint in India’s vegetable seed sector, we aim to make a strong contribution to increasing the productivity and quality of important food crops and give our full support to the nation’s smallholder farming base.”

Closing of the acquisition is expected by beginning of July. Eventually, the operations of SeedWorks India will be integrated into the Bayer CropScience network, and existing and forthcoming varieties will be marketed under the company’s Nunhems™ brand.