“Northern tier” seed breeding is expected to gain from Dow AgroSciences Canada’s plan to buy Ontario-based breeder Hyland Seeds.
Thompsons Ltd., a major Ontario grain handling firm based at Blenheim, about 100 km east of Windsor, has agreed to sell its Hyland division to Calgary-based Dow Agro, with a closing date in the “near future.”
Dow Agro CEO Jim Wispinski and Hyland general manager John Cowan did not disclose financial terms of the deal in an interview Tuesday.
Dow Agro gets the Hyland brand; its sales, marketing and administrative operations; its germplasm; its research and development program and three R+D sites plus a corn production facility. Dow Agro will continue to independently market seeds under the Hyland Seeds brand.
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Hyland, meanwhile, will continue to be headquartered at Blenheim; Cowan will continue as the division’s general manager.
“The entire Hyland Seeds network has worked hard to establish Hyland as the ‘northern tier’ genetics and trait leader,” Cowan said in a release Tuesday.
“This new alignment with Dow AgroSciences connects Hyland with a respected global leader and allows us to further strengthen our commitment to bring top genetics and traits to our customers.”
“From our perspective, it’s a solid fit. Dow AgroSciences’ commitments to integrity, customer relationships and innovation have long been an inspiration to us,” Wes Thompson, president of Thompsons Ltd., said in the same release. “And, we look forward to continuing to carry the Hyland flag as a dealer.”
Hyland is best known in Ontario, Quebec and the northern U.S., but has made inroads in Manitoba’s corn, soy and dry bean sectors and in corn for the livestock sector in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Thompsons, Cowan said, wanted to partner Hyland with a company deeply rooted in crop science, and while other companies have put forward offers for Hyland, Dow was seen as the best fit in terms of its corporate philosophy and long-term relationships with customers.
The sale, Cowan said, also frees Thompsons to focus on its grain and food operations.
And Hyland is expected to help further expand Dow Agro’s seeds business as Dow looks ahead to the introduction of SmartStax in 2010 and its own herbicide tolerant trait technology in corn in 2012, the Calgary company said.
