Agrium Inc. announced on Nov. 5 that its subsidiary, Loveland Products Inc., has signed a definitive agreement to take an equity stake in CH Biotech R&D Co. Ltd., an agricultural technology company that develops and markets plant health and nutrition technologies.
Under terms of the agreement, Agrium will have the right to obtain exclusive, worldwide distribution rights to CH Biotech’s existing plant health technologies as well as access to new product and technology opportunities. It will also allow CH Biotech to further collaborate with Agrium to expand their plant health-focused research and development initiatives.
"This integrated strategic partnership and investment continues to build our offering of next-generation plant health technologies, allowing us to provide a diverse and highly complementary product portfolio to meet the changing needs of our grower customers around the world," said Brent Smith, Loveland Products vice president. "We are highly focused on integrating and advancing our business and products with proprietary technologies, as evidenced by this and several other strategic investments made earlier this year. The pace at which technology in the plant health sector is advancing is rapid and we will continue to seek out complementary and innovative relationships in an effort to bring the advantages these products offer to the market in the most efficient manner."
Agrium’s Loveland Products currently markets and distributes several CH Biotech technologies including the brands Radiate®, NutriSync®, and Consensus®, which are product technologies focused on improving root development, stress reduction, and nutrient utilization.
"We are excited to increase our research and development initiatives with Agrium through Loveland Products," said Chen Pang Wu, chairman and CEO of CH Biotech. "Our recently completed world class research and development center in Taiwan is dedicated to discovering and developing novel technologies that create significant value and an excellent return on investment for growers. This partnership will allow us to further expand and grow that portfolio around the world."
Agrium announced earlier this year that it had taken a controlling interest in Agricen, an agricultural technology company delivering biochemical-based solutions and products for plant nutrition (GM Sept. 1, p. 1). Agrium also recently announced a commercialization and technology development agreement for soil and plant health nutritional products with Actagro, a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of environmentally sustainable soil and plant health technology solutions (GM Sept. 29, p. 13).
