The Dow Chemical Company announced that its fully-owned subsidiary, Dow AgroSciences has wrapped up the acquisition of Coodetec’s seed business. This is the second largest acquisition by Dow AgroSciences, helping it expand its footprint in high-value growth markets. It further broadens Dow’s corn and soybean genetics, and boosts the company’s breeding and production capabilities in the Americas.
Through this acquisition, Dow AgroSciences strives to retain its position as one of the fastest-growing soybean seed companies in the world. Dow AgroSciences has already developed some advanced corn and soybean technologies like POWERCORE, and is in the process of developing new technologies like Conkesta and the Enlist Weed Control System. In addition to these, the acquisition will speed up its entry and facilitate growth in the soybean market in Brazil where the company’s chief goal is to gain market share in soybean seeds.
Additionally, the Coodetec acquisition positions Dow favorably to enable it to strengthen its hold in the corn and wheat seeds market in Brazil. Thus, the acquisition boosts Dow’s genetics portfolio, operations breeding and development of new technologies.
This acquisition is also a boon for the U.S. farmers as it offers them high-performing corn and soybean germplasm which promise better-quality yield.
Dow recently posted its fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 results. The U.S. chemical giant’s earnings for fourth-quarter 2014 exceeded expectations on broad-based volume gains. However, its profits slid year over year in the quarter, hurt by a sizable loss associated with the abandonment of a facility in Clarksville, TN, by its joint venture – Dow Corning. Dow’s adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share outstripped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents, marking the fifth straight quarter of positive surprise.
However, Dow registered flat sales of $14,384 million year over year in the fourth quarter owing to higher volumes across developed and emerging markets, which were offset largely by declining prices in Europe.
