Bayer was reportedly asking a price of around €2 billion for the activities with around €600 million in annual sales. Bloomberg said Cinven had beat out potential buyers CVC Capital Partners and Brookfield Asset Management, with several others having dropped out of the bidding process.

The environmental science unit, part of Bayer CropScience, makes and sells products for lawns and gardens, golf courses, forestry and parks under the brand names Ficam, Maxforce, Esplanade and K-Othrine. ESP also offers a digital pest management system.

With the divestment, which was to be led by Gilles Galliou, previously head of commercial operations for Bayer Vegetable Seeds Americas, Crop Science division, the Leverkusen-based group said in March 2021 it would be able to sharpen its focus on its core agricultural business and accelerate its strategy implementation.

The ESP business planned to move from Germany to Cary, North Carolina, USA, part of the state’s Research Triangle, in mid-2021.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist