2023 is the first year of GMO industrialization in the mainland seed industry, while 1996 is the first year of GMO industrialization in the United States seed industry. Since 1996, Monsanto, which is mainly engaged in agrochemical and food, has spent nearly 10 billion US dollars to acquire Dekalb and Holden, which are mainly engaged in cultivating corn and soybean seeds, and reorganized Cargill and Asgrow, and gradually grew into the world's largest seed company through mergers and acquisitions.
In 2024, the "No. 1 Document" mentions accelerating the revitalization of the seed industry, improving the joint research and development and application cooperation mechanism, increasing the research on key core technologies of the seed source, and accelerating the selection and promotion of independent excellent varieties urgently needed for production. Promote the industrialization of biological breeding to expand and speed up. Behind the mergers and acquisitions of seed enterprises, the concentration of seed enterprises in 2024 is also expected to be further improved.
According to the data of China Agricultural Industrialization Network, the market share of the top ten enterprises in the mainland corn seed market in 2022 is only 32.5%, and New Era Seed ranks tenth with a market share of 2.1%, and the market share of the top ten enterprises in the mainland corn seed market in 2022 is only 32.5%, of which Syngenta's market share is 7.4%, plus the market share of Shanxi Dafeng Seeds, Syngenta's corn seed market share will exceed 10% in 2024, growing into the largest seed company in China.
Syngenta's IPO will eventually happen, but the timing has not yet been determined
"Syngenta's IPO will eventually happen, but the timing has not yet been determined. Jeff Rowe, CEO of Syngenta Group, said at a recent media conference that there is no timeline for Syngenta's initial public offering (IPO) and the company is focused on improving operations and performance.
Currently, Syngenta Group is seeking to be listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Previously, after the November 2023 results release, a Syngenta spokesperson said that Syngenta's listing was expected to be delayed until the end of 2024 due to poor market conditions. However, Luo Wenjie did not respond to the specific time this time.
Syngenta Group submitted its application for listing on the STAR Market in July 2021 and updated its responses to the inquiry letter for the completion of three rounds of review, focusing on the use of raised funds, global business integration and synergy, peer competition, goodwill, and repayment of long-term debt, and updated the prospectus in March 2023. But in March 2023, on the eve of the meeting, Syngenta's IPO was suspended.
Syngenta has been expanding its four major businesses through "buy, buy, buy" and has acquired leading agricultural companies in a number of sectors. Including Valagro and Nidra seeds, as well as Huifeng's crop protection business in China, it has further optimized its product portfolio and business scope for vegetable and flower seeds through multiple acquisitions in the United States and Europe. According to the plan disclosed in the prospectus, Syngenta will continue to look for acquisition opportunities in the future, continue to expand its business territory, and promote the integration of the agricultural industry in China and the world.
Recently, Syngenta announced the completion of the acquisition of Feltrin Sementes, a vegetable seed company in Brazil. According to its prospectus, after deducting the issuance costs, the funds raised by the issuance and listing will be invested in five projects, including the expenses and reserves of cutting-edge agricultural science and technology research and development, the expansion of production assets, and the expansion of modern agricultural technology service platform (MAP).
Source: Syngenta Prospectus
On February 1, Jeff Rowe, CEO of Syngenta Group, and Qin Hengde, Chief Financial Officer of Syngenta Group, were interviewed by a number of media in Beijing. For the Chinese market, Syngenta Group has developed a "two-step" strategy. "The first step in our strategy is 'In China for China, and the future is 'In China for Global." In the future, we will gradually shift the important base of innovation to China, not only to support China's agriculture, but also to support global agricultural development. Qin Hengde said.
Syngenta Group China Seed Industry has rapidly integrated and synergized on the basis of China Seed Group and the original Zhengda China Seed Business, and its sales scale ranks among the top in the industry, covering five major crop categories: corn, rice, wheat, oilseeds, and vegetables, and each crop remains at the forefront of the market segment.
Pictured: Syngenta Group's seed business in China
The wave of mergers and acquisitions in the seed industry has risen again, and "Syngenta" has taken shape
The history of the development of the global seed industry is also a history of mergers and acquisitions. Today's world seed market is divided by giants such as Bayer, Corteva, and Syngenta.
The low concentration of the industry can easily lead to disorderly competition. Mainland seed enterprises have long had the problem of "many small and scattered", and the extreme phenomenon of "competing for the bottom" in the seed market with shoddy quality, A for B, and price chaos in the seed market has occurred from time to time.
In the second decade of the 21st century, with the acceleration of the revitalization of the seed industry, the tide of mergers and acquisitions of China's seed enterprises has surged again.
The last round of mergers and acquisitions in mainland seed industry can be traced back to 2011. At the beginning of the 21st century, the degree of marketization of China's seed industry was low, and the merger and reorganization of seed industry was obviously affected by policies. After the promulgation of the "No. 8 document" in 2011, the core position of the enterprise in the commercial breeding system has been clarified, the seed industry enterprises have received unprecedented attention and investment, and mergers and acquisitions have also begun to enter an active period.
Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, seed industry enterprises have further improved efficiency and reduced costs, produced synergistic effects, expanded economies of scale, formed market control, and ultimately increased revenues, which also had a profound impact on the seed industry market structure.
Up to now, the "Sinochem system", represented by Syngenta, has become an important force in the mainland seed market. At present, the seed business unit is composed of Syngenta China Seeds, China Seed Group, Winwin Hi-Tech, Sanbei Seeds, etc., covering four major crop categories: corn, rice, vegetables and wheat.
Syngenta Seed Industry - Sinochem Department
Sinochem - Sinochem Group
China Seed Group has built a regional industrial platform through marketization, implemented the industrial merger and acquisition strategy, and successively invested in Sichuan Sichuan Seed Industry Co., Ltd. under the Rice Sorghum Research Institute of Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Golden Rice Seed Co., Ltd. under the Rice Research Institute of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Hunan Dongting Hi-Tech Seed Co., Ltd. under Yueyang Agricultural Science Institute of Hunan Province. It has jointly invested in the establishment of Zhongzhong Hybrid Wheat Seed Industry (Beijing) Co., Ltd. with the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, jointly invested in the establishment of Hubei Zhongzhong Wuling Seed Industry Co., Ltd. with the Enshi Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Hubei Province, and invested in Shandong Luyan Agricultural Seed Co., Ltd. under the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences with the Modern Seed Industry Development Fund, invested in the holding of Yibin Yizitou Seed Industry Co., Ltd. in Sichuan Province, and integrated all the conventional breeding resources and bases of Monsanto in China, and introduced its global germplasm resources and first-class breeding technology. Established "China Seed International Seed Co., Ltd.", which is controlled by China Seed Group.
In recent years, it has invested in Anhui Quanyin Hi-Tech Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Anhui Jianghuai Horticultural Seed Industry Co., Ltd., and Suken Nongfa (Jiangsu Dahua Seed Industry), Fengle Seed Industry, Longping Hi-Tech, Dunhuang Seed Industry, Quanyin Hi-Tech, Denghai Seed Industry, Modern Seed Industry Development Fund, East Asia Seed Industry, Kenfeng Seed Industry and other investment to establish Beijing Ai Seed Network Technology Co., Ltd., and jointly invested in the establishment of Nunem (Beijing) Seed Co., Ltd. with NUNHEMS B.V of the Netherlands. At the beginning of 2024, it will invest in Shanxi Dafeng Seed Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanxi Agricultural University Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Sinochem Department-Quanyin Hi-Tech
Winwin Hi-Tech hopes to give full play to the function of the capital operation platform to integrate resource allocation through the two-wheel drive of "endogenous" and "extensional", carry out mergers and acquisitions of high-quality seed enterprises, and consolidate the advantages of leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization. By actively making use of the advantages of the capital market platform and its own varieties, technologies and brands, the company further improves its industrial layout, increases the market share of the seed industry, enhances its overall competitiveness, achieves sustainable and high-quality development, and helps the company achieve its long-term development goals.
Quanyin Hi-Tech shareholding or holding companies: 36: Anhui Quanyin Seed Technology Co., Ltd., Anhui Wannong Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanfeng Seed Technology Co., Ltd., Hubei Quanyin Hi-Tech Seed Co., Ltd., Anhui Hua'an Seed Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanhua Seed Technology Co., Ltd., Jiangxi Quanya Seed Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyin Xinlong Seed Co., Ltd., Guangxi Quanhong Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Liaoning Tieyan Seed Technology Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyin Super Seed Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyin Hi-Tech Melon and Vegetable Seed Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyou Seed Industry Development Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyin Hi-Tech Agricultural Industry Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyin Hi-Tech Agricultural Investment and Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zhongke Quanyin Molecular Breeding Technology Co., Ltd., Xinjiang Xiangfeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Xinjiang Jinfengyuan Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Quanyin Tianfu Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Sichuan Quanyin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Anhui Quanyin Grain and Oil Purchase and Sales Co., Ltd., Jiangxi Quanyin Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Hefei Jingu Quanyin Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Beijing Aizhong Network Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Beinongstei Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Guangdong Sunac Lingyue Intelligent Manufacturing and Information Technology Industry Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), Anhui Diyuan Quanyin Agriculture Co., Ltd., Zhongke Hefei Intelligent Breeding Accelerator Innovation Research Institute Co., Ltd., etc., of which 4 branches have been set up abroad.
In mid-April 2023, Winwin Hi-Tech announced that it intends to use the raised funds of 224 million yuan to acquire a 67.90% stake in New Era Seed Industry Co., Ltd. to further enhance the company's corn seed market share and promote the sustainable development of corn seed business. This acquisition will have a significant impact on Winwin Hi-Tech's corn breeding capabilities and market competitiveness.
Sinochem - Sanbei Seed Industry
Sanbei Seed Industry can be traced back to July 4, 1998, in the wave of reform and reorganization of the national seed industry system, on the basis of the restructuring of Longhua County Seed Company in Hebei Province, the introduction of Shenzhen Zhongke Merchants Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Shaanxi Qinlong Green Seed Industry Co., Ltd., China Agricultural University Sinong Corn Breeding and Development Center jointly established Sanbei Seed Company. In 2003, it was selected as the 12th place in the "Top 50 Seed Industry in China".
On April 10, 2008, with the approval of the former Ministry of Agriculture, Sanbei Seed Company and Syngenta jointly ventured, with Syngenta accounting for 49% of the shares. Sanbei Seed Industry Co., Ltd. has become a Sino-foreign joint venture seed company integrating seed research and development, production and sales, and the main varieties are "Xianda" and "Sanbei" series varieties.
In 2010, Sanbei Seed Industry invested more than 100 million yuan to build a modern seed processing plant in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, and established Zhangye Sanbei Seed Industry Co., Ltd. In 2015, Sanbei Seed Industry invested in Xinjiang Huaxi Seed Industry Co., Ltd. and held 66.76% of the shares. In May 2019, China National Agrochemical Co., Ltd. (Syngenta Co., Ltd.) completed the acquisition of 51% of the shares of Sanbei Seeds, becoming the largest shareholder of Sanbei Seeds Co., Ltd., and Syngenta Nantong Crop Protection Co., Ltd. holds the remaining 49% of the shares. 100% of the shares of ChemChina Agrochemical Corporation are held by ChemChina.