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ST. LOUIS, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced that it has completed its proposed acquisition of Aly Participacoes Ltda., which operates the sugarcane breeding and technology companies, CanaVialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A., both of which are based in Brazil. Monsanto's $290 million (R$616 million) acquisition of Aly Participacoes Ltda. from Votorantim Novos Negocios Ltda. and its sister company, Votorantim Industrial S.A., was consummated with existing excess cash.

CanaVialis is the world's largest private sugarcane breeding company. Through its breeding activities, CanaVialis is developing and commercializing proprietary germplasm, or a plant's genetic raw material, that is anticipated to bring significant yields to sugarcane over publicly available varieties. Alellyx is an applied genomics company that is focused on developing biotech traits primarily for sugarcane. Their location and expertise in Brazil are especially important, as Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, the largest exporter of finished sugar, and the world's second-largest producer of ethanol after the United States.

"We look forward to working with our new colleagues at CanaVialis and Alellyx to combine our areas of breeding expertise to enhance yields in sugarcane, a crop that is vital to addressing growing global food and fuel demands," said Carl Casale, executive vice president of global strategy and operations for Monsanto.

About Monsanto Company

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: http://www.monsanto.com.