HOUSTON – A herbicide used to protect turfgrass, cotton and non-bearing fruit and nut crops has changed owners. KMG Chemicals Inc., a niche market specialty chemicals producer, announced Oct. 4 that its KMG-Bernuth subsidiary has acquired the MSMA herbicide product line from GB Biosciences Corporation, an affiliate of Zeneca Ag Products Inc.
The herbicide, known as monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA), is sold primarily under the trade name Bueno® 6. It protects turf and crops from various pests and weeds, including chickweed, ragweed and dandelions.
As a result of the purchase, KMG will acquire the worldwide registrations and trademarks for the herbicide, as well as the related manufacturing plant and equipment located at GB Biosciences' Greens Bayou facility in Houston, Texas.
KMG, through its subsidiaries, is a provider of chemicals that preserve and protect wood in the lumber and timber treatment markets. KMG-Bernuth Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals to narrowly defined markets.
GB Biosciences is an affiliate of Zeneca Ag Products Inc. of Wilmington, Del., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca PLC. AstraZeneca is currently in the development phase with Novartis AG to merge AstraZeneca's agrochemicals and Novartis' agrochemicals and seeds businesses to create a new listed company, Syngenta AG. The merger is expected to be completed in the second half of 2000.
