Mendel Biotechnology to sell its subsidiary, Mendel Plant Sciences

HAYWARD, Calif., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mendel Biotechnology Inc. ("MBI"), a leading agricultural discovery company, is announcing its intention to sell its operating subsidiary, Mendel Plant Sciences ("Mendel" or "the Company"). Mendel Biotechnology Inc. will continue to operate its royalty-based, biotech trait business developed primarily in collaboration with Monsanto. The separation of the two distinct businesses will enable each to maximize their respective value.

Mendel's knowledge of the 'Plant Gene Regulatory Networks', that control crop productivity processes, is a direct result of more than $100 million invested in research and development. This investment in people and facilities has generated advanced technologies, including Mendel's Productivity Reporter Panel, a proprietary screening system, new biotech traits and novel herbicide candidates.  Mendel has discovered performance chemistries and biostimulants that enhance crop productivity through improved drought tolerance, water use, disease resistance and photosynthesis. 

Neal Gutterson, President and CEO of MBI, said: "We have made tremendous progress at Mendel, generating new technologies for improving plant growth and performance through both seed and agrochemical products. We believe that our technologies can help shape the future of the agricultural industry".

MBI has engaged Kirchner Group, a leading mid-market M&A firm with expertise in the agriculture and food industries, to advise the Board and lead the acquisition process.  "The Board of Directors feels that the Company can best achieve its full potential within the context of a larger organization that has a complementary strategic focus.  In this way, it could fully realize its commercial opportunities within the billion-dollar markets that its platform creates," explained Gutterson. Interested parties should contact Kirchner Group.

About Mendel Biotechnology

Mendel Biotechnology Inc., headquartered in Hayward, California, is a leading plant science company meeting the needs of global agriculture. Since 1997, Mendel has been deploying its plant gene regulatory network platform and proprietary tools to improve productivity, resource use efficiency and stress tolerance of key agriculture crops. Mendel's platform has already identified technologies for next-generation yield traits in soybean and other crops, and is the foundation of a pioneering class of crop performance chemistries and novel herbicides. For more information, visit: www.mendelbio.com

About Kirchner Group

The Kirchner Group has been providing traditional merchant banking services since 1985. The Company provides operational and transactional support for companies and asset management services for institutional investors. Kirchner Group's proprietary platform is built on the premise that pairing deep domain expertise with process experts provides superior results. Our clients and partners range from some of the most promising entrepreneurs, to fortune 500 companies and their investors. In addition, Kirchner Group manages assets on behalf of some of the largest insurance companies, commercial banks and institutional investors in the world. www.kirchnergroup.com

Contact:

Kirchner Group

Clete Walker, Managing Director             (205)515-5401

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Mendel Biotechnology Inc.