Corteva Inc., Indianapolis, announced on Sept. 22 that it has signed an agreement to acquire Symborg, Murica, Spain, a microbiological technologies company. Corteva said Symborg possesses a diversified existing portfolio, an emerging biocontrol pipeline, and a skilled employee base with robust technical knowledge and demand generation expertise.
“Acquiring Symborg is a significant next step in Corteva’s strategy to accelerate the development of a best-in-class biologicals portfolio, as a valuable part of our integrated solutions we offer to our customers,” said Robert King, Executive Vice President, Crop Protection Business Unit, Corteva Agriscience.
“Over the past three years, Corteva has established licensing and distribution agreements with the top biological companies, which we selected after evaluating technologies and demonstrating customer acceptance,” he added. “This acquisition shows Corteva’s progression towards further establishing itself as a technology leader in this rapid growth segment.”
Corteva first collaborated with Symborg to scale up and bring farmers Utrisha™ N and BlueN™ nutrient efficiency optimizer as part of a distribution agreement between the two companies. The natural-origin biostimulant enables plants to fix nitrogen from the air and make it available to the plant, providing an alternative, supplemental nitrogen source and potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer use.
Corteva said the transaction continues its commitment to build a more differentiated and sustainably advantaged portfolio that provides cost-effective solutions for farmers. Corteva will leverage the combined organizations to scale up Symborg’s current solutions, as well as new products in development.
Corteva said Symborg locations in Spain and subsidiaries in the US, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brazil, France, Turkey, China, and Australia will become key elements of Corteva’s Biologicals Portfolio.
Closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed.