Chapter 429 Tianhe Brazil; Changing South Asia Strategy

[Spending nearly 20 billion US dollars! Domestic seed industry leaders go overseas to make up for their shortcomings in internationalization]

"Recently, Tianhe Seeds and Dow AgroSciences signed an agreement to acquire Dow AgroSciences' specific corn seed business in Brazil for US$11 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed within two months.

The transaction includes the breeding and research center, non-exclusive use of the Brazilian corn germplasm resource bank, the Morgan seed brand, and the Dow Sementes brand.

Before the acquisition, the breeding research and development center accounted for 18.5% of the Brazilian corn seed market share, ranking among the top three in Brazil, and its breeding materials maintained an absolute leading advantage in the Brazilian market.

The acquisition of the breeding research and development center will help further promote the implementation of Tianhe Seeds' internationalization strategy...

In addition, Quanwang Biotech, also a member of the Jiahe Group, is also negotiating with Dow AgroSciences to acquire its South Asian business, and the transaction amount is expected to reach more than US$9 million! "

Following an overseas news item, Tianhe Seed Industry once again set off a wave in China.

“The aircraft carrier of the seed industry sets sail, storming into the future!”

“An international seed giant emerging from the Northwest.”

“A breakthrough from zero, a clarion call for counterattack, the first cross-border merger and acquisition by a domestic seed company!”

Tianhe's acquisition of Dow Brazil has excited people in the corn breeding industry, and a large number of experts and scholars have interpreted the significance of this merger and acquisition.

Du Chunxin, an associate researcher at the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences who has been engaged in corn research for a long time and the breeder of Zhengdan 958, said in an interview with Seed Industry Weekly:
"The launch of the Tianyu series has enabled my country to continuously supply breakthrough corn varieties, and Tianhe Seeds has also established an efficient commercial breeding system for the first time. However, my country's corn breeding still has shortcomings.

Although my country ranks first in the world in corn planting area, it is not the origin of corn and lacks germplasm resources.

Corn breeding relies to a large extent on the introduction and utilization of foreign germplasm. It has always been the consensus of the industry to solve the "bottleneck" problem in the development of my country's corn seed industry and make up for the shortcomings in corn breeding.

Tianhe Seeds' acquisition of Dow AgroSciences Brazil Corn Breeding R&D Center means that international high-quality corn germplasm will enter the country at an accelerated pace, laying a germplasm foundation for filling the gaps in corn breeding.

Specifically, if we can innovate breeding with high-quality corn germplasm resources from Europe and the United States and cultivate high-yield corn varieties suitable for China's soil and climate, we can lay a solid foundation for China's food security. This is the greatest strategic significance of introducing Brazilian corn germplasm resources!"

Corn is one of the largest and most important varieties in the seed sector and is a battleground for international seed giants.

Tianhe's overseas acquisitions have sparked heated discussions among breeders on how to make up for the shortcomings of corn, with some feeling happy while others worried.

Some media analyzed that except for a few companies such as Longping High-Tech that have small sales business in the Philippines, Indonesia and Nigeria, most domestic seed companies have not gone abroad.

Even Longping High-Tech has invested very little overseas. It invested 300 million yuan in Nigeria to build a research and development center, and 1000 million yuan in Indonesia...

In contrast, Golden Harvest is priced in billions of US dollars.

The difference between the two is huge.

Even though industry insiders like Li Denghai felt bitter, they still gave high praise when interviewed by reporters.

"This acquisition is an attempt by China's leading seed industry to benchmark against the world's seed industry giants. Tianhe has set an example for other leading seed industry leaders in China to go overseas."

The reporter asked: "Is Denghai Seeds also preparing to follow Tianhe's example and make up for its shortcomings?"

Li Denghai: "..."

With the help of the media, a wave of seed industry craze was set off in China. During the spring plowing season, Tianhe seeds also ushered in wave after wave of hot sales.

Guo Yang is based in Jiuquan, keeping a close eye on the overseas acquisitions of Tianhe and Quanwang.

He read the media reports and received interview invitations from several media outlets, but he handed them over to his subordinates to handle.

In fact, as reported by the media, Tianhe's best asset in its acquisition of Dow Brazil is its vast corn planting resource base.

America is the birthplace of corn, and Dow's germplasm bank has accumulated resources collected over hundreds of years.

This will effectively enhance Tianhe's own breeding capabilities, and Guo Yang will also be able to make better use of the seed store.

Secondly, Dow Brazil's two corn seed brands and market share will also help Tianhe directly enter the South American market.

But the acquisition was not smooth sailing.

During the acquisition process, Monsanto's South American subsidiary Asgro also participated in the bidding, and DuPont was also hostile to Tianhe.

If you keep raising your quote, it will only significantly increase your costs.

But Qu Yang knew the details of Dow Brazil and Monsanto. Previously, Dow Brazil's corn business had already fallen into losses, and except for germplasm resources, it was not a high-quality asset.

So does Monsanto lack germplasm resources?

In fact, Monsanto owns the largest germplasm bank in the world!
The germplasm resources of Monsanto and Dow are highly overlapping. Monsanto also has two major seed companies, Asgro and Monsoy, in South America, and has been operating market channels for nearly 20 years.

Therefore, the acquisition of Dow Brazil is useless to Monsanto and has only one function: to eliminate potential competitors.

However, with the financial crisis and native biological invasions, Monsanto itself is also having a hard time. If it really wants to spend more than $10 billion to acquire a useless business, it is likely that it will not pass the test of shareholders.

After getting to know Monsanto's inside story, Qu Yang seemed less anxious.

While making the offer cautiously, Monsanto said, "You can raise the price if you want." Qu Yang was acting as if, "If you dare to quote a high price, I will quit."

On the other hand, they lobbied Dow's shareholders through investment banks.

The decline in business and losses directly affected the interests of Dow shareholders, and Dow's Brazilian corn business also suffered serious losses.

“Such business is a burden to the enterprise!”

Dow's shareholders put a lot of pressure on management.

The interference from DuPont is not enough, and Tianhe’s size is not enough to attract the full attention of international seed giants.

In this way, Tianhe successfully signed an agreement with Dow Brazil.

Similarly, the acquisition path of Dow Brazil also applies to Dow South Asia, and Quanwang intends to replicate it.

However, India's administrative approval restrictions are much higher than Brazil's.

"The meeting with Mohan Singh is tomorrow. This is going to be a tough one!"

"It's also possible that they have decided to eat us."

Yu Qin, Cheng Di, Miao Yifeng, Zeng Qing and others from the South Asia Acquisition Team gathered in a conference room at a Mumbai hotel, discussing the matter with worried faces.

With the assistance of Avic Investment Bank, there were basically no problems in the merger and acquisition negotiations with Dow AgroSciences.

However, Kumar could not solve the administrative problems at all, and the only value of the $50 commission was the information provided.

All investment and mergers and acquisitions in India's seed production and operation sector require administrative approval and permission, and now it is stuck at this link.

In the initial contacts, the acquisition team was repeatedly rejected.

Kerston Cole, senior mergers and acquisitions advisor at Avic Investment Bank, later conveyed that the Indian agricultural sector was hostile to Golden Harvest.

The word 'hostility' can mean many things.

They also soon discovered that media reports in various Indian states had reported that a Chinese company was planning to acquire Dow AgroSciences.

This Chinese company is the initiator of China's bioenergy forest industry, the proponent of the Red Flag River concept, and the promoter of the development of the Yarlung Zangbo River in China...

Dow AgroSciences was also found to have bribed someone during the pesticide registration review two years ago.

Two companies with a bad record came together in Ah San.

As the news of Tianhe Seeds' acquisition of Dow Brazil spread to Asan, the merger of Quanwang and Dow South Asia seemed to be not far away.

This caused a wave of questioning public opinion in India, and the public called for the two companies to be driven out.

"Or, why not just give up the Indian market and only acquire businesses in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh?"

"Now if the King of All buys Tao, he will be in trouble!"

Cheng Di pondered and said, "I have met with Kumar several times in the past few days. He is willing to introduce us to two more small and medium-sized seed companies. The targets are smaller and perhaps they will not attract so much attention."

Everyone discussed for a moment, then turned their eyes to Yu Qin in the center.

Yu Qin smoked a cigarette and said, "No matter how difficult it is, we have to do it. There is no way back. The boss is very determined and must enter the Ah San market."

"But this is obviously blackmail!"

"These bastards will definitely do something ruthless."

"Boss, what you mean is that the wool comes from the sheep." Yu Qin glanced at everyone, "Stop complaining. Instead of spending this time discussing where to find a breakthrough."

Miao Yifeng analyzed: "The main problem now is that the local public relations company hired by the investment bank is ineffective. I think this is where the problem lies. Therefore, the negotiation strategy with Minister Mohan Singh tomorrow should focus on this as a solution."

Yu Qin raised his eyebrows and asked, "Change the PR company?"

"Yes, you can also call it a consulting company, but this company must be recommended by Mohan Singh, and we can reveal part of our offer to him."

As soon as Miao Yifeng finished speaking, everyone understood what he meant. Someone sighed and said, "It's hard to quote this price!"

Yu Qin smoked one cigarette after another. His boss told him to do it "at any cost", but he was the only one who knew this sentence.

These days, a lot of money is spent on public relations.

All relevant departments in Asan have been arranged from top to bottom, just to have more people speaking for the King and make the administrative approval process go faster.

But the effect is average. In the past, if they would close the door to visitors, now they just ignore them.

The information gathered from all sides made them realize that the root of the problem lies at the highest level.

Therefore, Yu Qin contacted Mohan Singh, the Minister of Agriculture of the state of Maharashtra, through various connections including investment banks and Dow AgroSciences.

Mabang is the most economically developed region in India. As long as we can get through this hurdle, the rest will be much easier.

That night, the team discussed a lot about negotiation strategy.

The next evening, Yu Qin took Cheng Di to a private residence in Mumbai.

The reason why Cheng Di is brought along is because he is not only good at English, but also an expert in the breeding industry and young. Compared with the other few people who are more conventional, perhaps Cheng Di will have unexpected gains.

"Hello, Minister Singh, it's an honor to meet you."

"We also welcome investors from China." Singh acted very businesslike and went straight to the point without even exchanging pleasantries.

"But you shouldn't have any ideas about Dow AgroSciences. This is a company that we have banned. You are challenging the authority of government departments."

Yu Qin said: "No, Mr. Minister, we don't mean that. Quanwang Bio is a company with natural plant pesticides and feed additives as its main products. Its R&D path is completely different from Dow AgroSciences. We chose Dow AgroSciences entirely because of its market channels. We are not interested in its pesticide research and development at all.

In addition, our purpose of entering the Indian market is to help farmers increase their income, bring wealth to farmers, and bring healthy food to Indian citizens.”

Mohan Singh shook his head and said, "But our people don't seem to welcome you."

“There’s a misunderstanding.”

"Isn't Quanwang Biology a company wholly owned by Jiahe?"

"Yes."

Singh said: "The people are very concerned about Jiahe's energy forest strategy and believe that its ambition for the Brahmaputra will affect national security."

"I think Minister Singh will not agree with this answer. Any smart person will think this is a ridiculous inference." Singh showed a hint of interest at this moment, "Oh?"

Yu Qin smiled. Everyone had already discussed and come up with a preliminary answer to this question last night.

To this end, Yu Qin practiced how to answer this question dozens of times in front of everyone.

At this moment, his face was full of intriguing expressions, but sarcasm was undoubtedly the most prominent.

"Minister Mohan Singh, the flow of the Yarlung Zangbo River in China is 1654 billion cubic meters, three times that of the Yellow River.

But in the downstream Brahmaputra River, its annual runoff jumped to 6180 billion cubic meters, almost four times the amount of water upstream.

In the downstream sections of the Ganges such as Bangladesh where the water flows into the river, the runoff volume instantly rises to a terrifying 1.3 trillion cubic meters.

From this we can see that the runoff from upstream China only accounts for a very small part.

Therefore, even if China cuts off the upstream water source, the impact on the downstream will be minimal.

Besides, it is impossible to cut off the water supply.

In addition, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Hengduan Mountains are also a natural barrier, and the Hongqi River is not feasible.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

The public is ignorant and is being manipulated by unscrupulous media and politicians, but with your wisdom, you will definitely be able to figure this out."

Yu Qin looked at Singer quietly, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Cheng Di beside him nodding secretly, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Mohan Singh mused, "But the opinions of the people are also important. This is related to votes."

"This is also the reason why I came to visit Minister Singh today." Yu Qin said: "The people are ignorant, so they need wise people to guide them."

Mohan Singh said, "It is impossible for me to show up."

"No, Minister Singh doesn't need to come in person." Yu Qin said, "The King needs to find a consulting company that has influence in the local area. I hope Minister Singh can recommend one and have this company come forward to coordinate various relationships."

“This business is not easy to do!”

"No matter how difficult the business is, it is only because the price is not right. What price does Minister Singh think is necessary to complete this business?"

At this time, there were only two people on the king's side, and Mohan Singh only brought his trusted personal secretary.

Yu Qin's words were like handing the knife to the other party and putting it on his neck, "Come on, kill me."

Mohan Singh chuckled and said, "I don't know about that."

"How about 1.5% of the transaction amount as commission after the deal is done?" Yu Qin pondered.

The rate previously agreed with Kumar was 1%, but that guy had been abandoned long ago, but he still got a commission of $50 for nothing.

Although it has only increased by 0.5 points, the commission is still close to 1500 million US dollars based on the transaction value.

This is a sum of money that is enough to make anyone excited.

Singh's face remained calm when he heard the number, but Yu Qin, who had been staring at him, noticed that his facial nerves tensed up for a moment.

There is a play!

Singh knew what Yu Qin meant. The so-called consulting company was just an excuse to give him kickbacks. The money was for him.

I have to say, this is very courageous.

"Haha, I can only try my best to help you find it, but I can't guarantee success." Singer thought for a moment and said, "But I can give you a suggestion."

"Please say."

“Invest in a seed R&D center in India.”

"This is actually part of our plan." Yu Qin pointed to Cheng Di standing next to him, "He is a doctoral graduate from Michigan Technological University and will be the head of the Indian R&D center."

Singh smiled and said, “But this R&D center will be built in Arunachal Pradesh, so there will be no obstacles to this merger.”

Arunachal Pradesh?

Yu Qin was still wondering where this was when Cheng Di stood up angrily, "This is absolutely impossible!"

Mohan Singh's expression suddenly turned cold, and he suddenly said, "This is a necessary condition for Golden Harvest to enter the Indian market. There is no room for negotiation!"

Cheng Di said coldly: "Haha, Jiahe doesn't have to enter the Indian market, we can go to support Pakistan!"

"In that case, let's call it a day today," Singh said proudly, and then walked out of the room.

Although Yu Qin didn't know why Cheng Di suddenly got so angry, Cheng Di was not a reckless person. Instead, he had a bit of a bookish air.

There must be a reason that can make a scholar so angry.

After leaving the house, Yu Qincai asked, "Where is Arunachal Pradesh?"

"Zangnan!"

Yu Qin reacted immediately and cursed: "This bastard!"

He could all imagine that once Golden Harvest agreed to Singer's conditions, it would be doomed and would have to wander overseas from then on.

"It's a good thing Singh let the cat out of the bag, otherwise he would have been blackmailed for money." Cheng Di calmed down at this time, "The root cause is still the Yarlung Zangbo River."

"It seems that Ah San is more sensitive to domestic information than we thought!" Yu Qin pondered, "This is a bit troublesome. It's hard to explain to the boss, but the boss will definitely not give in on the issue of territorial principles."

Cheng Di recalled the communication process with Mohan Singh, but there was always a thread in his mind that he seemed to be missing.

Yu Qin was still cursing.

"Investing in a research and development center, go to hell, India deserves to occupy precious land and not be able to produce food."

"R&D center... R&D center..." Cheng Di muttered a few words, and his eyes lit up, "There is still a way!"

Yu Qin was surprised and shook his head again. "It is impossible to build a research and development center in southern Tibet. If it is built in southern Tibet, Ah San will definitely publicize it..."

“Why build your own?”

"What do you mean?"

"Cooperate with colleges and universities." Cheng Di said: "Entering the production and operation field requires administrative approval, but establishing a research and development center in cooperation with colleges and universities does not require administrative approval."

Yu Qin frowned, "But this is far from our goal. Even if we enter the breeding field, what's the point?"

"Long-term planning."

"The boss won't agree..."

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Yu Qin and Cheng Di looked at each other and could see confusion in each other's eyes.

In fact, the two had long suspected the reason why their boss was determined to enter the Indian market, and had never thought of giving up even though the business environment was so bad.

Cheng Di followed from beginning to end.

Yu Qin's name comes from the phrase 'at all costs'.

Just for India's vast agricultural market?
The boss is not a greedy person, and as for helping Ah San increase grain production, that is even more impossible.

So there must be another reason.

After returning to the hotel, the two decided that Yu Qin would report alone.

It was under such circumstances that Guo Yang received a call, "Asan's country is very hostile to Jiahe!"

"It is very likely that everyone is the enemy."

"Let's cut the loss in time. Give up the business in India, but Dow can take over the rest of the market in South Asia," said Guo Yang.

Yu Qin said: "Dow wants to sell it as a package. After all, Pakistan is also a high-quality market."

Guo Yang pondered and said, "Forget it then. Cheng Di and Miao Yifeng will stay for a while, and the rest of you can withdraw."

"Okay." Yu Qin sighed secretly. Cheng Di had guessed it right. It seemed that the boss was really interested in the plan proposed by Cheng Di.

In fact, Guo Yang was also surprised by Cheng Di's performance. As a researcher, he had really good observation and analytical skills.

He actually guessed some of his thoughts and quickly proposed targeted solutions.

By cooperating with colleges and universities to establish a research and development center, it is indeed possible to bypass supervision and allow seeds to enter the Indian market openly.

It’s just that Tianhe did not directly enter the production and operation field, so it could not enjoy the profits from selling seeds.

However, Guo Yang's purpose is to destroy.

It doesn't matter if you don't make this money, but at the same time you will invest less.

He even thought of a more radical idea.

Since you want to cooperate with colleges and universities, you can also directly purchase the nationally reviewed varieties of the relevant colleges and universities.

Then, by using the method of duplication, we can transplant the products and change the shells, and then authorize them to be sold to enterprises, so that farmers in India can enjoy the happiness brought by high-yield varieties earlier.

This method is also more covert, and can protect our own personnel to the greatest extent when land hazards occur.

If done well, it can even completely remove Tianhe, and the same technique can be repeated in other countries in the future.

After Guo Yang sorted out his thoughts on his own, he called Cheng Di and communicated with him for nearly two hours.

Cheng Di's performance in 'Aruchanar' made Guo Yang have more trust in him.

He revealed to him that Tianhe Scientific Research Institute had two special seeds.

The yield is extremely high and the overall traits are superb, but the damage to the soil is also horrific!
Now, you need to sow these two seeds on Asan’s land, and the one who will undertake this important task is you: Cheng Di.

What surprised Guo Yang was that even at this moment, Cheng Di was still very calm and calmly proposed to resign.

"Boss, I want to enter Asan's college as an individual, this will be more secretive!"

Guo Yang pondered and said, "You don't have to resign. You have been frequently appearing in Mumbai recently and have been tough on the issue of southern Tibet. The other party has already remembered you.

Entering India under the pretext of establishing a cooperative research center, the other party will only think that Tianhe is still determined to enter the Indian market, which is completely understandable.

At the same time, Tianhe will not give in on the issue of southern Tibet.

This led to the situation where Tianhe was engaged in breeding research and development in India, but India would block Tianhe from entering the production and sales field, and the breeding results could be monopolized naturally...

This will be better than quitting your job.

Come on, Cheng Di!"

Thinking of Mohan Singh's determined attitude on the issue of Southern Tibet and the ambitions of the country of India, Cheng Di solemnly agreed.

(End of this chapter)