A German company is spending over a billion dollars to acquire an Iowa-based bio-tech business.
Becker Underwood, based in Ames, markets products for turf and crops, like biological seed treatment that boosts yields. The company was founded in 1982. It now has 10 production facilities around the world, with 479 employees on its payroll. In the past 12 months Becker Underwood has made nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in sales.
BASF is buying the firm, for $1.2 billion. If regulators approve the deal, BASF will merge Becker Underwood into a new unit called “Functional Crop Care.”
BASF was founded in the kingdom of Bavaria in 1865 and today bills itself as the “world’s leading chemical company.”
Neither company has disclosed what may happen to employees of Becker Underwood once BASF takes over.
The two men who founded Becker Underwood sold a controlling interest in the firm to Norwest Equity Partners in 2004.