Swiss agrochemicals company Syngenta AG (SYT) said Thursday, it's going to buy the hybrid sunflower seed operations from U.S. rival Monsanto Co. (MON) for $160 million on a cash and debt-free basis.

MAIN FACTS:

-The asset deal includes germplasm, development and breeding of hybrid sunflower seeds.

-The business recorded sales of $75 million in the 2008 fiscal year and has leading positions in key markets.

-Syngenta's sunflower seeds business is the global market leader with sales of more than $200 million in 2008.

-Sunflower oil is a high value vegetable oil which is low in saturated fats and mostly used in food applications.

-Globally, sunflowers are grown on around 24 million hectares. Major sunflower producing countries are Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, France and Central Europe.

-The sunflower seeds market is currently valued at around $700 million with more than 75% of the value coming from developing markets.

 
   Company Web Site: http://www.syngenta.com 
 
   -Zurich Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +41 43 443 8040; zurichdjnews@dowjones.com