Monsanto acquires Rosetta Green activity

Monsanto is paying NIS 126 million, a 90% premium, for the activity of the crop bioengineering company.

3 February 13 09:36, Gali Weinreb

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is acquiring the activity of crop bioengineering company Rosetta Green Ltd. (TASE: RSTG) for NIS 126 million. Last week, "Globes" revealed that Rosetta Green was in talks over a strategic cooperation agreement with a global seed company. Monsanto decided that a cooperation agreement was not enough, and decided to acquire the company in toto.

Monsanto will apparently pay $35 million for Rosetta Green, plus $2 million in milestone payments. Rosetta Green's share price rose 4.1% on Thursday to NIS 6.54, giving a market cap of NIS 66 million. Monsanto is paying a 90% premium on the market cap.

Monsanto is acquiring Rosetta Green's activity, not the company, which will become a cash-rich stock market shell. Monsanto is best known in Israel for its $35 million investment in crop bioengineering company Evogene Ltd. (TASE:EVGN) and signing a cooperation agreement with it, which could potentially be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Evogene.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 3, 2013

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