KWS has announced that it will be selling its conventional seed potato business to Stet Holland B.V. The agreement was signed on April 11 and is expected to be completed by mid-2016. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of this transaction.
The KWS Group’s seed potato business is steered by its subsidiary KWS POTATO B.V., which is based in Emmeloord in the Netherlands. Its varieties and potato breeding material dedicated to french fries, chips and table potatoes for traditional export markets are being sold to Stet Holland BV, which is also based in Emmeloord.
“The future owner Stet Holland is positioned for a successful continuation of our conventional potato business while KWS will fully focus its efforts in potato utilizing its resources and know-how as a breeder to develop hybrid varieties,” noted Peter Hofmann, a member of the executive board of KWS SAAT SE.
“Hybrid breeding in potato and multiplication via seed instead of tubers is an entirely new but highly promising approach that has considerable advantages compared to conventional breeding. We have been working in this innovative field since 2011 and have achieved significant progress in the meantime,” Hofmann added.
Peter Ton, general manager of Stet Holland, said: “KWS’ seed potato business is an excellent fit for Stet as the markets for the current KWS and Stet varieties are very complementary to each other. Taking over KWS’ variety portfolio, seed potato production, and sales channels will enable us to create synergies and gain presence in key markets and specific processing segments. KWS’ varieties, breeding material and expert employees, combined with a good customer base, will help us to strengthen Stet’s position in the seed potato market.”
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