Israeli crop protection producer Adama, a subsidiary of ChemChina, has disclosed that it is making “significant progress” towards acquiring China’s Jiangsu Anpon Electrochemical.

Also a wholly owned subsidiary of ChemChina, Anpon is a fully backward-integrated manufacturer of key active ingredients used in crop protection markets worldwide, notably ethephon, pymetrozine and buprofezin, as well as other intermediates such as chloralkali. It posted sales of around $234 million in 2017.

Adama said Anpon is fast becoming a key part of its global operations, adding synthesis and formulation capabilities to its operations in China. Anpon’s site in Huai’An City, Jiangsu province, is located next to Adama’s new global formulation facility. The Israeli producer added that work at its R&D center in Nanjing, China, is also resulting in major process improvements in Anpon’s production processes.

Both companies have reached an initial understanding and are now working towards signing a definitive purchase agreement, which will remain subject to corporate and regulatory approvals along with the usual closing conditions.  They have not given a timescale for the proposed transaction or any financial details.