The cash offer stands at $465 (U.S.) per ordinary share, plus a special dividend to be paid conditional upon and prior to closing, which is expected to take place by the end of the year.
A Syngenta press release states, “Syngenta’s existing management will continue to run the company. After closing, a 10-member board of directors will be chaired by Ren Jianxin, chairman of ChemChina, and will include four of the existing Syngenta board members. ChemChina is committed to maintaining the highest governance standards with a view to an IPO of the business in the years to come.” It also says Syngenta will continue to be headquartered in Switzerland.
In a separate press release, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson released the following statement:
“Today’s announcement is cause for concern among everyone in U.S. agriculture, especially farmers. NFU will pay particularly close attention to the alarming trend of Chinese government-owned entities purchasing U.S. and other agricultural companies. Most recently, Chinese company Shuanghui International acquired U.S. pork producer Smithfield.
“In this case, Syngenta would be owned by a company controlled by the Chinese government. For an increasingly consolidated sector of agriculture, this is of particular concern since state-owned businesses frequently do not act in economically rational or predictable ways. As a result, more uncertainty often surrounds their businesses, and consequently, other competing businesses may be adversely affected.
“While NFU is pleased that Syngenta will maintain its North American presence for the sake of competition in the marketplace, we will continue to review the impact this deal may have on the competitiveness in U.S. agriculture. NFU is especially concerned that yet another merger will trigger additional domestic consolidation of the remaining seed and crop protection companies.” FG
