Monsanto Company to Invest in Technologies for Sugarcane With Acquisitions of CanaVialis and Alellyx
Companies to Combine Their Expertise to Enhance Production of Sugarcane and Biofuels to Meet Growing Global Demands
"Global demands for raw sugar and biofuels are beginning to rise at a faster pace than the current production levels in sugarcane, a crop that is essential to meeting these demands," said Carl Casale, executive vice president of global strategy and operations for Monsanto. "Similar to our work with technology collaborators, we expect the additions of CanaVialis and Alellyx will allow us to combine our breeding expertise with key large-acre crops with their breeding expertise in sugarcane. Our goal with this approach is to increase yields in sugarcane while reducing the amount of resources needed for this crop's cultivation, just as we're doing now for corn, soybeans and cotton. We view this as a significant opportunity over the longer term to supplement our ongoing commitment to corn as an ethanol feedstock, diversify our crop technology portfolio and provide innovations to such a vital crop as sugarcane."
Because the acquisition represents a long-term investment in research and development (R&D) and breeding, the company does not expect the acquisition to be accretive to earnings until the middle of the next decade. The company additionally expects a purchase-accounting adjustment for in-process R&D.
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