AMVAC Netherlands, a wholly owned subsidiary of US specialty and agricultural products company American Vanguard, is to acquire Grupo Agricenter, a Costa Rica-based distributor of crop protection products operating in seven Central American and Caribbean countries.

The deal will boost AMVAC’s product and service offerings in the Latin American agricultural market, where it regards itself as a leader in the nematicides segment for crops such as banana and pineapple.

“This acquisition will not only advance AMVAC’s international expansion but will also enhance our successful track record of providing important solutions to farmers throughout the region.  This newly acquired platform has enjoyed annual sales of more than $50 million in the recent past, and we expect to build upon that foundation going forward,” commented American Vanguard’s chairman and CEO, Eric Wintemute.

Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close on Oct. 2, were not disclosed.

Last month, AMVAC Mexico completed the acquisition of seven selective sugar cane herbicides and eight contact fungicides from Swiss agrochemical giant Syngenta, which was required to divest certain assets in order to get clearance from Mexican regulators for the merger with ChemChina.

AMVAC Chemical Corp. also completed the acquisition in June of three crop protection product lines - abamectin, chlorothalonil and paraquat - from Adama Agricultural Solutions, part of ChemChina. The US Federal Trade Commission had stipulated the sale as a condition of its approval for ChemChina’s takeover of Syngenta.