Acquisition of Estero S.A. is good news for South American farmers

DLF has acquired a majority shareholding in Estero S.A., a Uruguayan seed business with strong research links. The company, which has its headquarters in Montevideo, trades widely throughout Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Estero specialises in the production, development, and marketing of forage seeds, hybrid corn, sorghum and sunflower, soybean, winter cereals, and lawns.

2016-05-10

The acquisition of Estero is a strategic move to enhance our services to the continent's vast beef and dairy farm industries. The deal gives us a 60% shareholding in Estero; the other 40% remains in the hands of the company's founders and directors, Carlos Rocha and Jorge Gari. The company will now be known as DLF Estero.

"This investment, which is our first in South America of this kind, represents a cornerstone in our strategic ambitions for South America," says CEO Truels Damsgaard.

"We have known Estero for more than 10 years as a well-managed and highly esteemed seed company. Our investment in Estero secures a platform from which we can develop our seed activities in Uruguay as well as throughout South America. Estero offers an excellent opportunity to leverage our ongoing investments in research and plant breeding even further. Our varieties developed from our global research activities are well adapted and well performing in many parts of South America.

"The acquisition of Estero and the integration of our current wholesale activities based in Argentina into DLF Estero, helps unlock a considerable potential for beef and dairy farmers as well as for professional turf grass users in South America."