News
Monsanto acquires De Ruiter Seeds

April 15, 2008, Bergschenhoek, the
Netherlands — De Ruiter Seeds has been sold to Monsanto . With this
acquisition, De Ruiter will become Monsanto’s “centre of excellence”
for vegetable seeds in protected cultures. 

April 15, 2008, Bergschenhoek, the Netherlands — De Ruiter Seeds has been sold to Monsanto. With this acquisition, De Ruiter will become Monsanto’s “centre of excellence” for vegetable seeds in protected cultures. It will gain access to Monsanto’s world-class technology and will maintain its brand name and operational structure.
De Ruiter Seeds CEO Biense Visser says this is an important development for the future of the company. “We are convinced the future of our company and our customers is best served by the sale to Monsanto. Monsanto is a world leader in molecular and breeding technologies. De Ruiter Seeds will gain access to Monsanto’s advanced technology and that will give us the opportunity to accelerate the delivery of new and improved varieties of vegetable seeds for protected cultures. Moreover, we can accelerate regional expansion to Asia and South America.”
For Kerry Preete, president of Monsanto’s vegetable seeds division, De Ruiter Seeds is a great acquisition. “For many years now, De Ruiter Seeds has held a leading position in breeding and producing high-quality seeds for protected crops, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and melons.
Upon completion of the transaction, Monsanto’s vegetable seed business will serve its grower customers through three dedicated platforms. The De Ruiter Seeds business will serve the protected-culture vegetable seed market. Seminis will serve the open field vegetable seed market. The International Seed Group, Inc. (ISG) subsidiary will serve customers of its specific market segments.
De Ruiter Seeds was founded in 1945 as a family business and grew to become a worldwide family of businesses working close to its clients with over 900 employees in 15 countries. “The growth has been fantastic,” said Visser, “however the competition is very strong and the demands for investments are increasing every year. Monsanto is willing to invest in our people and organization, so we can strengthen our leading position in the high value, protected culture market for vegetable seeds.”
De Ruiter Seeds breeds, produces and sells hybrid vegetable seeds for top vegetable products tomato, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, melon and rootstock. De Ruiter Seeds is one of the top breeding companies in the world.
The existing operational structure, leadership team and staff of De Ruiter Seeds will be kept in place to operate the business. The know-how, professionals and way of working of De Ruiter Seeds are part of the success and therefore important to Monsanto. This acquisition will strengthen De Ruiter Seeds and will accelerate the development of new varieties with more innovative traits to always better serve our customers and the industry.
The Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.