Selling shareholders include Otter Capital LLC, TPG Biotech, Loudwater Investment Partners Ltd., Generation Investment Management, Halcyon Capital, Swiss Re AG and several Swiss sustainable investment funds.

CropScience, of Monheim, Germany, announced the deal late Tuesday, July 3, but disclosed no further terms. It said the acquisition would enable CropScience to build up its technology platform for "green" products and strengthen its strategically important fruits and vegetables business. It would also open new opportunities in other crops and markets.

"The growing fruits and vegetables market, which today accounts for more than 25% of our sales is of strategic importance to us," said CropScience CEO Sandra Peterson in a statement. "We plan to achieve €3 billion (of) sales in this segment by 2020 and with the acquisition of AgraQuest we are underlining our growth ambitions."

Davis, Calif.-based AgraQuest supplies biological pest management systems for plants and animals, based on natural micro-organisms. Its current portfolio includes fungicide and insecticides, which will complement CropScience's existing product offering. AgraQuest's pipeline of biological control agents includes fungicides, acaricides (mite-killers) and nematicides (parasitic worm killers), among others. The Bayer unit will integrate AgraQuest's biopesiticides production facility in Tlaxcala, Mexico as well as its research and development site in Davis.

Bayer took legal counsel from a Jones Day team led by Sanjiv Kapur. Ivins, Phillips & Barker advised on tax matters. A Baker & McKenzie LLP team led Matthew Gemello and Dieter Schmitz and including Tiffany Rose served as legal counsel to AgraQuest.