DuPont is bolstering its presence in digital ag services, announcing a deal on Wednesday to acquire San Francisco-based Granular, Inc.
Started in 2014, Granular provides software and analytic tools focused on improving farm efficiency and profitability, as well as operating a farmland real estate website.
“This acquisition is an important component of our commitment to leading and shaping the agtech market,” said DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Collins, with responsibility for DuPont’s Agriculture segment, in a news release. “We believe DuPont’s agronomy expertise, deep customer relationships and market reach will accelerate Granular’s business growth and help us deliver more value to growers around the world.”
Sid Gorham, Granular’s co-founder and CEO, will continue to lead Granular and will lead Digital Agriculture for DuPont, including the company’s existing Encirca agronomic software business.
“We started Granular to make a big impact on the business of farming,” said Gorham. “I am confident that as part of DuPont we will make a bigger impact even faster. DuPont shares our vision for using technology to help farms improve their dollar yield, not just their bushel yield. We are excited to pursue that vision together.”
The deal is reportedly worth $300 million. It’s expected to close in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, DuPont and Dow say they have met the conditions for closing their merger, and have agreed in writing to close the deal on August 31, 2017.
