Mitsui, ISK Take Stakes in Brazil’s Ourofino

Japanese companies Mitsui & Co. and Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha (ISK) have signed a binding agreement to jointly acquire a 25% stake in Brazilian agrochemical company, Ouro Fino Quimica. Mitsui will take a 20% share of Ourofino, with ISK taking 5%.

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approval. The companies have not revealed financial details.

Located in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Ourofino manufactures a range of agrochemicals, including fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

Mitsui said it intends with ISK to contribute to expanding Ourofino’s business in Brazil, which is the world’s largest market for crop protection products, accounting for about 20% of global demand. Ourofino will benefit from access to Mitsui’s assets around the world and will include ISK’s products, which include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and nematicides, into its portfolio.

As part of its medium-term management plan, Mitsui has identified nutrition and agriculture as one of its key new growth areas. The Tokyo-headquartered group distributes agrochemicals and agricultural supplies in Europe through wholly owned subsidiary Mitsui AgriScience International Europe and in the US through its fully owned biopesticides division Certis USA.