UPL Acquires Dow’s Propanil

By Scott C. Lucas|27 November 2006

Marketed primarily as Stam herbicide, propanil is a selective, post-emergence, foliar applied, non-residual herbicide for the control of many important annual grasses, broadleaf and sedge weeds used in rice. The product also has more than 100 registrations in over 30 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia/Pacific. This purchase will strengthen UPL’s position in the rice herbicide segment and allows Dow AgroSciences to focus resources on priority molecules.

The deal also marks the third major acquisition made by UPL in as many months. In September, the company announced purchase of the bensulfuron-methyl business, a rice and aquatic herbicide from DuPont, and in November, it acquired Cerexagri.

Under this latest agreement, UPL and its subsidiaries throughout the world can start selling propanil and its formulations immediately. The total turnover of this product in 2005 was US$ 18.9 million. The total cost of the acquisition is approximately US$ 25 million, including inventories.

UPL’s revenue for the year ending March 2006 was about US$ 410 million. With the purchase of Cerexagri, UPL would become the third largest generic agrochemical Company in the world.

This brings the total number of acquisitions made by UPL in 2006 to six. On top of the deals for propanil, Cerexagri, and bensulfuron-methyl, UPL also acquired Advanta BV, Cropserve, and products from Bayer CropScience.