Monday December 14, 7:14 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Scotts Forms Biotech Collaboration With Monsanto
MARYSVILLE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998-- The Scotts Company (NYSE: SMG - news) today announced that it has entered into a collaboration with the Monsanto Company (NYSE:MCT - news; NYSE: MTC - news) to bring the benefits of biotechnology to the multi-billion dollar turfgrass and ornamental plants business.
Under the terms of the agreement, Scotts and Monsanto agree to share technologies, including Monsanto's extensive genetic library of plant traits and Scotts' proprietary gene gun technology to produce improved transgenic turfgrasses and ornamental plants. Scotts and Monsanto will work with each other exclusively on a global basis to develop these biotechnology products in the professional and consumer markets. Each company will bring its leading brands, marketing skills and technological expertise to create new products. In addition to sales by Scotts, the companies plan to license the new products to other marketing partners in the turf and ornamental industry.
''This alliance makes Scotts the leader in non-agricultural biotechnology and gives Scotts the opportunity to enter the $9 billion consumer green goods market,'' said John Sanford, founder of Sanford Scientific Inc. and co-inventor of the gene gun technology.
The collaborative alliance will focus on providing professional and consumer benefits such as turfgrass that requires less mowing and water, ornamental plants that last longer and produce larger and more plentiful blooms, and plants that will allow for better weed control. Scotts has been working since 1997 on Roundup Ready® turfgrass, which is tolerant to Monsanto's Roundup®, under a research agreement with Monsanto. The current alliance expands that relationship to cover new applications for Roundup Ready technology as well as other improvements to ornamental plants, including annuals, perennials, roses and woody ornaments. Research with bedding plants, including impatiens, pansies and marigolds, is showing promise for flowers with bigger, longer lasting blooms.
Separately, Scotts announced an agreement with Rutgers University for exclusive worldwide rights to Rutgers' transgenic varieties of creeping and colonial bentgrass. Monsanto has agreed to become a partner in the Scotts - Rutgers agreement.
''Monsanto has been at the cutting edge of the advanced biotechnology research that is bringing valuable new products to agriculture. Rutgers is known worldwide for its expertise in turfgrass breeding and plant biotechnology. We believe that such strategic alliances give Scotts the best approach to creating shareholder value in the field of plant genetics,'' said Charles M. Berger, Scotts' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The Scotts Company is the world's leading supplier of consumer products for the lawn and garden care, professional turf care and professional horticulture businesses. The Company owns what are by far the industry's most recognized brands. In the U.S., consumer awareness of the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro® and Ortho® family of brands outscores the nearest competitors in their categories by several times, as does awareness of Roundup®, for which Scotts is the exclusive marketer. In the U.K., the Company's brands include Weedol® and Pathclear®, the top-selling consumer herbicides; Evergreen®, the leading lawn fertilizer line; Shamrock®, the leading line of peat products; the Levington® line of lawn and garden products; and Miracle-Gro®, the leading plant fertilizer. In continental Europe, the Company's leading brands include KB®, Fertiligene®, Celaflor® and Nexalotte®.
Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995: Forward-looking statements represent challenging goals for the Company, and the achievement thereof is subject to a variety of risks and assumptions. Certain forward-looking statements contained in this press release, include, but are not limited to, information regarding the future economic performance and financial condition of the Company, the plans and objectives of the Company's management, and the Company's assumptions regarding such performance and plans. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking information in this release, due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
The effects of weather conditions on sales of the Company's products, especially during the spring selling season;
The success of the Company's advertising and promotional programs;
The Company's ability to maintain favorable profit margins on its products and to produce its products on a timely basis;
Inherent risks of international development including currency exchange rates, economic conditions, regulatory and cultural differences;
Changes in economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe and the impact of changes in interest rates;
-- Environmental issues and consumer perceptions; and
-- The successful integration of recently completed and planned acquisitions. |
