LOS ANGELES, July 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Markstone Capital Partners, a leading private equity fund Chaired by Elliott Broidy, confirmed reports that Syngenta AG has agreed to acquire Markstone portfolio company Zeraim Gedera Ltd., a high quality Israeli vegetable seed company. Zeraim focuses primarily on high-value crops, including tomato, pepper and melon. Syngenta will acquire all outstanding shares in the company from Markstone for consideration of approximately $95 million, subject to closing adjustments.
Mike Mack, Chief Operating Officer of Syngenta Seeds said: "This acquisition further expands Syngenta's position in high-value growth segments. Zeraim Gedera's portfolio and its strong presence in Mediterranean markets ideally complement our vegetable seeds business."
Markstone's Chairman Elliott Broidy said: "We are very pleased for our investors who will receive superior returns on this transaction. Markstone acquired Zeraim Gedera in 2005. Our investment strategy is continuing to prove itself out as we target excellent companies with outstanding performance, both financially and with respect to product development. We want to add value to our portfolio companies and Zeraim's business, which will continue to trade under the Zeraim brand and will remain in Israel, is poised for a great future."
The transaction is expected to close in 2007 pending regulatory approvals.
About Markstone Capital Partners
Markstone Capital Partners, managed by Chairman Elliot Broidy of Los Angeles and Ron Lubash and Amir Kess in Tel Aviv, is an $800 million private equity fund dedicated to investments in Israel's old economy with offices in Los Angeles, California and Tel Aviv, Israel. After the sale of Zeraim Gedera, Markstone has six portfolio companies: Golden Pages, Ltd., PRS Mediterranean, Steimatzky, Netafim, Nilit and Prisma Investment House.
About Syngenta
Syngenta, based in Basel, Switzerland, is considered the leading agribusiness company in the world. It is traded on the Swiss Stock Exchange and the NYSE with a market cap of approximately $20 billion. Syngenta has 20,000 employees in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, North America and Asia, and ended 2006 with revenue turnover of $8 billion, an operational profit of $822 million and a net profit of $504 million.
Markstone Capital Partners
CONTACT: Elliott Broidy of Markstone Capital Partners, +1-310-553-5090
Web site: http://www.markstonecapital.com/
