Petoseed Plans to Merge Into New International Company
The parent company of Saticoy-based Petoseed Co., a world leader in developing and marketing hybrid vegetable seeds, has signed an agreement to merge Petoseed into a new international agribusiness and biotechnology giant to be controlled by a Mexican conglomerate.
Petoseed’s owner, privately held Geo. J. Ball Inc. of West Chicago, Ill., has signed a letter of intent to merge the Saticoy firm into an as-yet unnamed entity with production and research facilities in 35 countries and annual revenues of about $500 million.
The other investor is Empresas La Moderna, a Mexican company involved in agriculture, packaging and cigarette manufacturing and distribution. It claims to be Mexico’s largest cigarette company.
Empresas is controlled by Pulsar Internacional, a privately held group with 23,000 employees and wide interests in consumer products and financial services. Both companies are based in Monterrey.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Empresas will hold a majority interest in the new partnership, with Ball having “a strong minority ownership position,” including seats on the entity’s board, said Barrie Ricketts, Ball’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.
None of Petoseed’s employees are expected to lose their jobs in the merger, officials of the firms said. Petoseed has 1,300 employees worldwide, about 200 of them in Ventura County.
“We’re confident the new company will do extremely well,” Ricketts said. “Since we’ll have a major interest in it, we’ll benefit from its progress.”
Besides serving as Petoseed’s administrative headquarters, the Saticoy facility east of Ventura includes a large warehouse and distribution center. Both operations are expected to continue at the site.
Empresas’ stock is traded on Mexico’s Bolsa. Its American depository shares have been trading since February on the New York Stock Exchange.
If completed, the merger would culminate a series of deals that will bring several of the world’s leading seed producers under the Empresas umbrella.
Earlier this year, Petoseed acquired a Dutch seed company, Royal Sluis. Also this year, Empresas signed an agreement to purchase Asgrow Seed Co., a 130-year-old concern in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Alfonso Romo Garza, Empresas’ chairman and chief executive, said Petoseed and Asgrow will probably operate independently.
He added that the merger is expected “to develop a tremendous connection between seed producers, farmers and consumers.” Hybrid vegetable seeds, long a Petoseed specialty, are designed to increase yields and develop crops that are resistant to disease and drought. The new company will have about 440 professionals working on seed research and development worldwide.
The family-owned Ball concern will retain a number of other seed companies, including Burpee, a leader in sales to home gardeners.
Petoseed began as a tomato seed producer in Ventura in 1950, later developing hybrid cantaloupes, cucumbers, watermelons and a variety of other crops. The company moved to Saticoy in 1958. It was acquired by Ball in 1967.
