BASF’s Q1 Investment Spike Reveals €124M AgBiTech Purchase
A look at the AgBiTech Acquisition by @BASF. In Q1 2026 BASF announced the acquisition of AgBiTech. One thing to note from their report is the “Investments” line. The AgBiTech acquisition was finalized in Q1 and investments were up ~€120 million YoY, and about the same above the 5-year average for the same period. In looking at the cashflow commentary there is a call out of the acquisition: Payments were made in the amount of €124 million in connection with the acquisition of AgBiTech, Brisbane, Australia, and for a purchase price adjustment of €33 million relating to the sale of the global pigments business in 2021. The statement is confusing to me given the second half of the sentence. However, given the investment and acquisition line item suggesting a ~ €120 million price for AgBiTech, and the line seemingly suggests €124 million in deal price, it seems safe to assume €124 million is the price that was paid. I speculated on the price paid, and I was way off. But since we roughly know their revenue, and now the value, we can look at revenue multiple paid, which gives a base barometer for other future acquisitions: AgBiTech seemingly had ~$20 million USD in revenue. Using a USD to EURO of 0.85 we get a revenue of ~€17 million, which means a revenue multiple of 7.3x. Higher than I expected. For context, Corteva acquired Stoller (not biocontrol) for ~3x revenue, Syngenta acquired Valagro for around the same and BASF’s previous large acquisition, Becker Underwood, was for around 4x.
Agriculture’s Slow Clockspeed Limits R&D and M&A Aggression
Clockspeed, Capital, and Conviction: Considerations for R&D and M&A in Agribusiness There is a recurring critique that incumbent agribusinesses are "asleep at the wheel" because they do not spend higher percentages of revenue on R&D like big tech or pharma,...
Spotting Biases Saves Millions in Agribusiness Decisions
Cognitive Biases and Improved Decision Making for Agribusiness Leaders ◼︎◼︎◼︎ A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgment. It's a predictable way our brains diverge from effective reasoning when processing information, evaluating risk, or making decisions. I believe understanding...
Crop Input Giants Accelerate Biologicals Growth, Report Shows
Every major crop input company now has a biologicals strategy. The question is how are they progressing and what specifically are they doing? I just published an updated report that tracks the biologicals and specialty nutrition strategies, revenues, acquisitions, partnerships, pipelines,...
Biostimulant Market Shifts to Asia, Embraces Single Molecules
DunhamTrimmer Biostimulant Report Highlights and Analysis ◼︎◼︎◼︎ The global biostimulant market hit $4.47B in 2024 and is projected to reach $7.88B by 2030. But the headline number obscures what's actually happening structurally in the category. Latin America and Asia-Pacific have overtaken Europe as the...
Recognize Cognitive Biases to Sharpen Agribusiness Decisions
Cognitive Biases and Improved Decision Making ■■■ Every strategic decision in agribusiness passes through a human brain before it becomes action. That brain, regardless of the education or the decades of experience informing it, is running on cognitive software that evolved to...
Cut Cognitive Biases, Boost Agribusiness Decisions & Sales
Upstream Ag Professional - The Big Three Stories of the Week ◼︎◼︎◼︎ A look at what agribusiness leaders will find in this weekend's edition of Upstream Ag Professional: 1. Cognitive Biases and Improved Decision Making for Agribusiness Professionals Often we focus on making...
Mental Models: Essential Tools for Agribusiness Success
Mental Models for Agribusiness Leaders ◼︎◼︎◼︎ Recently, I talked with @timhammerich on The Future of Agriculture, one of my most listened to podcasts. It was a ton of fun to join Tim and talk about some of the concepts that have been...
Crop Protection Market Stabilizes, Modest Growth Expected 2026
FY 2025 crop protection and seed results have all been reported, across @Bayer, @BASF, @corteva, FMC, @Syngenta, @UPLLtd, and @NufarmSeedsNA. Several players were down, however, the crop protection market was viewed as more stable (before recent geopolitical events, anyways). Channel inventories...