<p><strong>Monheim, Germany</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Bayer CropScience announced today the completion of its purchase of AgraQuest, Inc., a global supplier of innovative biological pest management solutions. All required transaction waiting periods have expired without objection from the relevant competition authorities.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The acquisition of AgraQuest significantly boosts Bayer CropScience´s ability to make available to customers worldwide a comprehensive range of integrated and sustainable crop solutions based on seeds, traits and combined chemical and biological crop protection including seed treatment. Biological pest management solutions, often also referred to as Green Products, will play a significant role in propelling farming`s future. Bayer CropScience plans to achieve EUR 3 billion in its fruits and vegetables business by 2020 – and AgraQuest will add further to this goal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“This acquisition strengthens our strategically important fruits and vegetables business,” Sandra Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience said. “The global market for Green Products is expected to increase significantly over the years to come and we see additional growth opportunities in all agricultural crops as well as for our Environmental Science business and for Bayer´s Animal Health division.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In July 2012, Bayer CropScience announced its plans to acquire AgraQuest, headquartered in Davis, California, USA for a purchase price of US$ 425 Million (about EUR 340 million) plus milestone payments.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">AgraQuest offers customers well-established Green Products available today in more than 30 countries. Additionally, it has a promising pipeline of new biological control agents. Bayer CropScience plans to further invest in the R&D site in Davis, which is intended to become a world class center of expertise and excellence in Green Products. Furthermore, Bayer CropScience plans to expand existing manufacturing operations of Green Products at Tlaxcala site in Mexico.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, seeds and crop protection as well as high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 7.255 billion (2011) and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 21,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.press.bayercropscience.com" target="_new">Bayer CropScience</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
