Bayer: Pressure to act at the chemical giant
Agrochemical specialist Bayer is under high pressure in the current market environment. To keep its Crop Science agricultural division profitable and to manage the fallout from the US glyphosate lawsuits, CEO Bill Anderson is driving a fundamental restructuring. By the end of 2026, Bayer aims to save around EUR 2 billion. In fiscal year 2025, the group as a whole generated revenue of EUR 45.575 billion and EBITDA before special items of EUR 9.669 billion. The Crop Science division contributed EBITDA before special items of EUR 4.188 billion to this, representing a 3.2% decline from the previous year. While the seed business grew, classic crop protection segments such as the insecticide business slumped by 12%. Because the company has committed to reducing the ecological footprint of its crop protection portfolio by 30% by 2030, the group urgently needs new, highly efficient biological technologies to close revenue gaps.
KWS Saat relies on innovation
KWS Saat, based in Einbeck, focuses on the beginning of the agricultural value chain. Under the leadership of Executive Board Spokesperson Felix Büchting, the SDAX-listed company is recording stable growth and, with equity of EUR 1.6 billion and a market capitalization of around EUR 2.3 billion, is regarded as financially strong. In fiscal year 2024/2025, KWS generated revenue of approximately EUR 1.68 billion at an operating EBITDA margin of around 20%. Strategically, the group relies on state-of-the-art breeding methods and secured access to patented CRISPR-Cas systems through a worldwide licensing agreement to achieve even more precise resistance to plant pests. For the immediate protection of the seedling in moist soil, the company developed the KWS INITIO seed treatment line. In cooperation with Biotenzz, a spin-off of TU Graz, KWS embeds beneficial bacterial strains in microscopic capsules that only take effect after sowing – a process that enables yield increases of up to 5% in sugar beet. This shows that innovation is still possible in agriculture, too.
MustGrow Biologics is revolutionizing the industry
At the intersection of ecological research and commercial agriculture, the Canadian agtech company MustGrow Biologics occupies a key position. The management team relies on the natural biological defence mechanism of the mustard plant. The patented process concentrates the active ingredient, AITC, into a stable liquid formulation called TerraMG™. This biological liquid can be applied via standard irrigation, injection and spray systems, which makes application considerably easier for farmers compared with the mechanical incorporation of mustard meal.
Extensive field studies conducted on approximately 40 hectares of farmland in Western Canada have validated its effectiveness. In a wet growing season, the pre-registered biocontrol product TerraMG™ reduced the concentration of clubroot spores in the soil, thereby enabling higher yields. In the area of biofertility, the company markets the organic product TerraSante™, which demonstrated significant improvements in quality and yield for potatoes in field trials. The market potential for intensively farmed high-value crops in the US alone covers approximately 5.6 million acres. The company estimates that even with a market penetration of just 3.3% and a single annual application, it could generate approximately USD 100 million in revenue.
Partnership with Bayer: Major Vote of Confidence – Stock Appears Undervalued
MustGrow’s commercialization strategy is built around partnerships with global industry leaders to navigate the capital-intensive regulatory approval process. The most significant milestone to date is an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Bayer for the EMEA region. Under the agreement, Bayer assumes full responsibility for conducting and funding all regulatory studies, laboratory testing, and approval procedures. MustGrow expects the combined value of the upfront payment, milestone payments, and Bayer-funded development activities to total USD 35–40 million over the next five to seven years.
Analysts and market observers view the collaboration between MustGrow and Bayer as particularly promising, as it secures distribution channels and enables further innovation. Since MustGrow also pursues a high-margin licensing and contract manufacturing model, thereby avoiding large capital investments, the risk for MustGrow shareholders appears manageable. Although the stock has recently declined, its current market capitalization of only about CAD 28 million is likely to attract bargain hunters. Since MustGrow can solve pressing problems in the agricultural sector and has strong ties to the industry’s major players, investors should keep an eye on the stock.
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