ICL, a leading global specialty minerals and specialty chemicals company, announced on 24 March it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Compass Minerals América do Sul S.A., which includes the South American Plant Nutrition business of Compass Minerals – after a planned carve-out of the existing water treatment and chemicals businesses – for approximately $402 million.
The South American Plant Nutrition business is the leading specialty plant nutrition business in Brazil and offers a broad range of solutions for plant nutrition and stimulation, soil treatment, seed treatment and plant health, covering all key Brazilian crops. Its product portfolio includes enhanced efficiency fertilizers and controlled-release fertilizers, soil and foliar micronutrients, secondary nutrients, biostimulants, and adjuvants. The business has an existing presence in 25 out of 26 Brazilian states and serves more than 32,000 farms directly and indirectly, with direct-to-farm sales accounting for approximately 50% of total sales.
“This transaction, together with our recent acquisition of Fertiláqua in Brazil and our existing specialty plant nutrition business there, will position ICL as the leading specialty plant nutrition company in Brazil, one of the world’s fastest growing agriculture markets. This important next step delivers on our stated strategy of achieving leadership positions in high-growth specialty plant nutrition markets, such as Brazil, and also accelerates our progress toward long-term global leadership for our Innovative Ag Solutions division,” said Raviv Zoller, president and CEO of ICL.
by Daniel Marshall
Source: chemweek.com
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