LAS VEGAS – Yet another long-established name in turf seed is changing, punctuating a year marked by significant shifts in the ranks of turf seed producers.
Owners of 74-year-old Lofts Seed Inc. have signed a binding definitive purchase agreement to merge with Las Vegas-based AgriBioTech Inc. The merger will also include Loft’s operating division Great Western and its affiliated companies Sunbelt Seed and Budd Seed. The agreement is scheduled to close in early January where rapidly expanding ABT will acquire Lofts effective Jan. 1, according to a recent press release.
ABT reportedly paid 2 million shares of their common stock (valued at $8.50 per share when the letter of intent was signed) and approximately $17 million in cash for the proposed merger with the North Carolina-based Lofts, which had annualized net sales in 1996 of $75 million, the release said.
John C. Francis, vice president of the $280 million ABT, said Lofts was acquired because of its quality management and impressive reputation in the seed market.
Lofts fits nicely into ABT’s plans, he said, to converge the fragmented forage and turfgrass sector. ABT has acquired 15 other seed companies since its aggressive plan began in 1995, with a goal of achieving 45 percent market share or $500 million in revenues by 2000.
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