KWS closes sale of corn business in South America

Einbeck, 02.08.2024

KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA ("KWS") has closed the sale of its South American corn business to GDM in accordance with the agreement reached on March 25, 2024. The transaction has recently been approved by the relevant antitrust authorities, with the volume ranging in a mid-three-digit million Euro amount.

The transaction will have a significant positive impact on key financial indicators of the KWS Group. Since the majority of the proceeds from the sale are to be used to reduce debt, KWS anticipates a significant improvement in financial leverage (net debt/EBITDA) and the equity ratio as well as a significant decrease in interest expenses in the future.

About KWS*
KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies. More than 5,000 employees* in over 70 countries generated net sales of around €1.8 billion in fiscal 2022/2023. A company with a tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for over 165 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugarbeet, cereals, vegetables, oilseed rape and sunflowers. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods to continuously improve yield for farmers and plants’ resistance to diseases, pests and abiotic stress. To that end, the company invested more than €300 million last fiscal year in research and development.

*excl. seasonal workforce
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Contact

Peter Vogt
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 30 816914-490
Mail: investor.relations@kws.com

Sina Barnkothe-Seekamp
Lead of External Communications
Tel.: +49 (0) 151 18855820
Mail: sina.barnkothe@kws.com

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