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A global venture involving Auckland-based biotechnology entrepreneur Rubicon Ltd has gained access to international nurseries capable of bulking up genetically engineered trees for forestry.
Rubicon and two American partners - International Paper and MeadWestvaco Corp - each own one third of South Carolina joint venture in GE trees, ArborGen LLC.
The venture has just taken over International Paper's Super Tree nursery near Bluff City Arkansas, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
The nursery's change in ownership is part of a deal in which the joint venture partners contribute their nursery and seed-orchard businesses to ArborGen in a transaction valued at US$60 million ($76.15 million).
The Bluff City nursery produces about 45 million pine seedlings and more than 3 million hardwood seedlings through traditional methods.
ArborGen uses a seed-cloning technique to propagate genetically improved seedlings and has conducted field tests of genetically engineered trees, in which they have inserted "foreign" genetic material.
Recently ArborGen has focused on developing trees for ethanol production stock.
Genetic engineering of forestry trees has so far only been commercialised in China.
Previously ArborGen didn't have the capacity to produce plant material and market it but with this acquisition they did, University of California at Davis tree geneticist Professor David Neale said.
Nurseries acquired in New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and the US sell 350 million seedlings annually generating more than US$25 million in sales and employing 185 people.
In New Zealand, Rubicon is keeping up its share of the venture by contributing its Horizon2 pine nurseries at Te Teko, Tokoroa, Kaikohe, and Nelson and at Colac in Australia.
Rubicon chief executive Luke Moriarty, said that in one move, the acquisition of the United States nursery, orchard and tree improvement operations and the Horizon2 businesses in Australasia "fundamentally repositions ArborGen from a business in development to an established commercial entity."
- NZPA
