Syngenta Flowers to focus more on Cyclamen
News

Acquisition of Varinova’s Cyclamen business increases range of genetic alternatives for customers

  • Varinova brings strong technical expertise, specialization and experience in Cyclamen
  • Combined strengths will bring continuous innovation to the grower and their customers
  • Syngenta Flowers underlines the ambition to elevate its position in the Cyclamen market

Enkhuizen / Netherlands, June 6, 2019 – Syngenta announces today, that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Varinova’s Cyclamen business. Varinova is a Dutch company that is fully dedicated to the breeding, production and commercialization of Cyclamen. The combination of technical expertise and the innovative varieties from Varinova with the market access and world class science of Syngenta allows Syngenta Flowers to strengthen its position in the Cyclamen market. Syngenta Flowers is going to work on bringing new innovation and excitement in the Cyclamen market.

The acquisition of the Cyclamen business of Varinova is strategic for Syngenta Flowers. Michael Kester, Global Head of Flowers: “Cyclamen is a focus crop for us in which we are determined to grow through a broader portfolio and strong technical support to our growers. Varinova brings the complementary product portfolio and breeding pipeline we were looking for. Our future portfolio is now more complete, more state of the art and offers important features like botrytis resistance.” Kester continues: “The coming months we will take the time to determine our strategy for Cyclamen together with the Varinova-team. We will be ready before the Cyclamen season kicks off.”

This combined offering also leverages best in class technical support from both companies giving growers in different markets a full package of genetics and technical growing support. We have a solution for all circumstances. That way, Syngenta Flowers can tailor the offering to specific needs of each grower. Not only with the genetics, but also with the years of experience in growing Cyclamen that Varinova brings.

Marga Janus and Bart Kuijer, owners of Varinova, are very pleased with this acquisition: “Varinova has a strong name in the market. This step will help bring our breeding program with beautiful Cyclamen genetics to the next level. We look forward to making use of the commercial power of Syngenta. Personally, we are very happy to give Varinova and the people continuity through this acquisition. The team of Syngenta has given us the confidence that this is a good fit, with nice people, short communication lines and a family feeling. We are proud of the Varinova-team and the results we have reached so far.”

Varinova will continue to sell their assortment to their customers. In addition, as of now, Syngenta Flowers customers can order all Cyclamen products through the Syngenta Flowers sales team.

During the FlowerTrials the full Varinova-assortment will be presented along the Syngenta Flowers genetics at the Syngenta Flowers location in De Lier. FlowerTrials will be held from June 11 through June 14.

About Syngenta Flowers
Syngenta Flowers is a leading global company, producing seeds, cuttings and young plants in the pot- and bedding plants market. 2,300 passionate people across the globe bring color to the world with flowers. Our aim is to create value by bringing innovative products that help growers produce more attractive and higher quality products in an easy way. Apart from customer satisfaction with innovative flowering plants, we also work on improved shelf life, more resistances and more resilience. As part of Syngenta, a global company with a strong focus on the seeds business and breeding, we have access to leading breeding technologies. To learn more visit www.syngentaflowers.eu.
 

About Varinova
Varinova is a specialized breeding company based in the Netherlands. With more than 40 years of experience in research and breeding techniques, Varinova has become well-known in the industry for its strong breeding activities in Cyclamen varieties that are all characterized by compactness, uniform growth and Botrytis tolerance. Varinova has 11 Cyclamen series, with different numbers of colors each. A dedicated team is working hard every day on improving product quality and responding to changing (climate) circumstances.
To learn more visit www.varinova.com.


About Syngenta
Syngenta is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS.

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