Bayer Cropscience Acquiring Dewitt Seed Company

Bayer CropScience announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Hornbeck Seed Company Inc., a privately-held company headquartered in DeWitt, Arkansas.

Hornbeck is a seed company supplying soybean, rice, and wheat varieties in the southern U.S. market, with an in-house soybean breeding program and proprietary soybean germplasm.

Bayer CropScience will acquire the seed businesses and gain access to quality soybean germplasm for future variety and trait development. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Soybean is a strategically important crop for Bayer CropScience, and this acquisition is an important first step towards realizing a fully integrated soybean business. Hornbeck has a strong seed business and an excellent reputation in the marketplace, and the addition of this company to the Bayer CropScience team will allow us to serve soybean-farmers with complete solutions of seed, seed treatment, traits and crop protection solutions,” said Sandra E. Peterson, Chairman of the Board of Management at Bayer CropScience. “We have already a very successful cotton, canola and vegetable seed business in the U.S., and we have initiated research to improve wheat breeding in the U.S. as well. We will now further complement these activities by adding seeds for soybeans.”

“We are excited to have the opportunity to join the Bayer CropScience organization for a host of reasons – not the least of which is the reputation and reach of the company, and its commitment to providing innovative solutions to growers throughout the southern region of the United States,” said Troy Hornbeck, Chief Operations Officer for Hornbeck Seed. ”By joining forces with Bayer CropScience, we can build on the Hornbeck tradition of offering innovative products, and look forward to providing an expanding array of high-quality products and to maintaining our strong relationships and long tradition of excellent customer service.”