DuPont, Bunge Form Global Alliance 35125

DuPont, Bunge Form Global Alliance

ST. LOUIS--DuPont and Bunge Ltd. announced plansto form a global alliance, including launching a joint venture for specialtyfood ingredients and creating a biotechnology agreement. The joint venture--SolaeLLC--will consist of DuPont's Protein Technologies food ingredients business andBunge's specialty food ingredients business; Bunge recently closed itsacquisition of Cereol S.A., including the Central Soya business in NorthAmerica. DuPont will hold majority interest in St. Louis-based Solae, whileBunge will receive a 28-percent interest plus $260 million cash. Global revenuesof Solae are expected to exceed $800 million annually.

Solae is the consumer brand name for DuPont ProteinTechnologies' soy ingredients, which include soy protein and soy isolates. Theexpanded Solae portfolio will include textured vegetable proteins, soyconcentrates and isolates, and specialty lecithins. The DuPont/Bunge alliancepositions Solae to compete in the increasingly competitive soy ingredientmarket, which includes Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill.

J. Erik Frywald, vice president and general manager of DuPontNutrition & Health, will be chairman of Solae and Stephen B. Tanda,president of DuPont Protein Technologies, will be chief executive officer. FromBunge, Drew Burke, managing director of ingredients and new businessdevelopment, will be vice chairman and Theodore P. Fox III, controller, will bechief financial officer.

The biotechnology agreement will combine DuPont's strengths inscience with Bunge's strength through the value chain; the companies willinitially focus on soybeans. A third part of the global alliance includesworking together on providing products and services to farmers, with initialefforts in South America and Asia.

Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont (www.dupont.com)posted 2001 annual sales of more than $4.3 billion across industries includingagriculture, transportation, electronics, home and construction. Bunge Ltd. (www.bunge.com)is headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., and is the world's leading oilseedprocessing company; it will report 2002 fiscal results in February, but netincome for the year was expected to be approximately $220 million.