American Vanguard Acquires Insecticides from Bayer CropScience

By Jim.Robinson|December 14, 2010

American Vanguard Corporation today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amvac Chemical Corporation, has completed the acquisition of two insecticide product lines from Bayer CropScience, LLC. The first includes the global product line relating to the active ingredient Ethoprophos (sold under the trade name Mocap) and the second includes the global (except for Europe and Argentina) product line Fenamiphos (sold under the trade name Nemacur). Both product lines include registrations and data rights, rights relating to manufacturing and formulation know-how, inventories, the Ultima packaging system and the trademarks Mocap, Nemacur and Ultima. Other terms of the transaction were not released.

Mocap is a leading soil insecticide that is registered in 50 countries where it is used to combat many nematode species in a wide range of crops. Nemacur is a leading soil insecticide that is registered in 30 countries for use primarily as a nematicide with additional efficacy against above-ground sucking insects.

Mocap and Nemacur are well-positioned in many high-valued fruit and vegetable crops, allowing them to achieve very attractive profitability. They can help professional crop protection users replace less desirable soil fumigants (such as methyl bromide), and are a powerful tool against resistance development in numerous soil insect species. Each of these products has a well-recognized global brand identity and well-established worldwide distribution channels.

Eric Wintemute, President and CEO of American Vanguard, stated: “We are very pleased to be able to add Mocap and Nemacur to our already extensive insecticide product portfolio. As the “products of choice” in many specialized crop applications, Mocap and Nemacur have enjoyed an attractive competitive position and excellent profitability for many years. We feel that our considerable expertise with insecticidal products will allow us to expand on the success that has been achieved under the excellent stewardship of Bayer CropScience.”

Wintemute continued: “In light of the fact that the majority of Mocap and Nemacur sales occur outside the United States, these products help American Vanguard to further our strategic goal of international expansion.These transactions and others that we are pursuing underscore the importance that we attribute to product portfolio enhancement and effective operational arrangements.