Monsanto sells its global sunflower business to Syngenta

Monsanto Company has entered into an agreement to sell its global sunflower assets to Syngenta for around $160 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Syngenta will purchase assets of Monsanto's global hybrid sunflower seed business and assume its liabilities. The transaction is subject to completion of appropriate regulatory approvals, a Monsanto release said.

"We're pleased that Syngenta is acquiring Monsanto's global sunflower assets and will continue to provide farmers with high-quality hybrid sunflower seed," said Carl Casale, Monsanto's executive vice president of strategy and operations. "Monsanto remains fully focused on our seeds and traits platform's core crops to fuel our company's future growth through yield and innovation."

Monsanto has declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of 26.5 cents per share, relating to the company's fourth quarter 2009 fiscal year. The dividend is payable on 30 October 2009 to shareowners of record on 9 October 2009.