J.R. Simplot, Former Owner Bid for ABT

While Budd, former president and chief operating officer of ABT, and J.R. Simplot Co., Post Falls, Idaho, submitted separate bids and ABT has recognized those bids, the acquisition process is nowhere near completion. According to Fred Zerza, vice president of public relations, J.R. Simplot Co., competing bids can still be submitted. Once a bid is approved, the purchaser has a legal right to due diligence and can either submit a lower bid or decline the offer.

"Simplot has bid on certain assets of ABT, but we don’t characterize it as an agreement in principle because our bid is subject to due diligence and board approval," Zerza said. "And we’re not necessarily the exclusive bidder. We have not reached a definitive agreement by any measure, and we won’t until due diligence is completed."

In a previous announcement, ABT reported that as a part of the transaction, the purchaser is expected to assume the company’s obligations under contracts with its growers, which includes purchasing existing turf seed inventory in the growers’ possession. After this announcement, various purchase packages were submitted to Development Specialists Inc. (DSI), the bankruptcy reorganization group overseeing ABT’s operations. Other companies, whose names were not released, also submitted bids. The exact details of the J.R. Simplot Co. and Budd bids were confidential at presstime and will be made public at a later date, according to Zerza. DSI reports it will stop taking bids for the company in June.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous release distributed by ABT stated that the sale of the company’s assets was official, however, that is not the case. To view the initial report of the sale, which was distributed by ABT, please click here: AgriBioTech Announces Turfgrass Unit Sale.]

Reports released about the sale of ABT to J.R. Simplot Co. also quote a $65 million purchase price, plus the assumption of liabilities. This amount, according to Zerza, is speculative. "Our bid is much lower than that," he said. "The actual amount won’t be defined until due diligence is completed."

If J.R. Simplot Co. won the bid, Zerza said ABT’s turf and horticulture assets would become part of Simplot Turf & Horticulture, a division of J.R. Simplot Co., and current management would remain in charge of the new addition.

Despite ABT’s dramatic failure, Zerza said if the acquisition pans out, J.R. Simplot Co. plans to ease the current financial turmoil seed growers face. "We have no control over what has happened," Zerza said. "But we will do what we can to re-establish stability."

Other seed companies declined to comment about ABT or the outstanding bids made on the company.