# of shares to increase significantly but purchase does fit with...

# of shares to increase significantly but purchase does fit with NUF's portfolio/strategy. I'm still short from $10.10.

from The Oz:

• The Australian
• 12:00AM October 25, 2017
• Save
• • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on email
  • Share more...
• ELI GREENBLAT
  
  Senior Business reporter
  Melbourne
  @EliGreenblat
  

Nufarm’s long wait for assets to be shaken loose by the whirlwind of consolidation around the world’s crop protection and fertiliser sector has finally borne fruit and the company yesterday announced a $691 million deal to clinch a European product portfolio.
Nufarm said it had agreed to buy a portfolio of established brands, with more than 50 crop-protection formulations and 260 registrations in European markets, from Adama Agriculture Solutions and Syngenta Crop Protection for $US490m ($626m), plus $US50m for inventory.
Nufarm chief executive Greg Hunt told The Australian the company had been tracking assets likely to be spun off amid a tide of multibillion-dollar deals in the global agricultural chemicals industry for more than a year.
“We have been hard at work … we have been looking at some of these things for over a year. But we are very happy about this and it really fits exactly what we wanted,’’ he said.
The global consolidation of the world’s seeds, pesticides and fertiliser sector has been driven by Bayer’s $US57bn bid for Monsanto, a $US59bn merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, and the state-owned China National Chemical Corp’s takeover of Swiss seeds company Syngenta for $US42bn.

Nufarm generates its highest crop-protection margins in Europe.
The deal would consolidate Nufarm’s position as a supplier in Europe and allow it to offer a broader suite of products in fungicides and insecticides, Mr Hunt said.
The company generates its highest crop-protection margins in Europe.
Nufarm forecast the portfolio would contribute net sales of about $250m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $95m to $100m in the 2019 financial year, improving overall margins and cash flow.
The deal will be funded by an underwritten $446m share offer and $272m from existing debt facilities.
The portfolio being picked up by Nufarm includes herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, seed treatments and plant growth regulators sold in markets including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Romania and Hungary.
“When you look at our strategy, what we want to do is focus on certain geographies and certain crops. So rather than trying to be all things to all people we believe we could give better returns for our shareholders by going deeper rather than broader,” he said.
“What in effect we are getting is a revenue stream aligned to our strategy of driving revenue from our key crops and geographies.’’

Mr Hunt said Nufarm’s stronger market position in Europe would also enhance its position as a preferred development and go-to-market partner for other crop-protection companies.
Last month, Nufarm posted a full-year net profit of $114.5m for the year to July 31, compared with last year’s profit of $27.5m, which was heavily affected by one-off costs of $81.4m and the closure of five of its 16 factories in an efficiency program. Underlying net profit, which excludes one-off items, rose 25 per cent to $135.8m for fiscal 2017. Revenue rose 11.5 per cent to $3.1 billion.
Nufarm said it had signed a long-term extension of a tie-up deal with Sumitomo Chemical, which took a stake in the company in 2010. T he two agreed to work together in development, manufacturing and distribution.
additional reporting: AAP