Gowan Co. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the entire global dinitroaniline (DNA) herbicide portfolio from Dow AgroSciences.

The acquisition includes global product registrations, trademarks, including Treflan, Edge, Team, Bonalan and Sonalan, intellectual property and labels for herbicides based on the molecules trifluralin, benfluralin and ethalfluralin.

A formulation and packaging facility in Sturgeon County, Alberta, is also part of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2015. Agreement and financial terms were not disclosed.

DNA herbicides were one of the first families of selective soil herbicides and have been a part of weed management programs for over a half century. The global DNA business to be acquired by Gowan has a broad regulatory presence with active registrations in 22 countries including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and parts of Europe.

These products provide control of annual grasses and small seeded broadleaf weeds in a wide range of crops including cotton, beans, canola, cereals, crucifers, cucurbits, and vegetables.

“We are enthusiastic to be able to acquire these proven products in this critical era for herbicide resistance management. The products are particularly significant for us in Canada and Europe where our growing sales force is centered on extending the utility of herbicide programs,” says Juli Jessen, Gowan Group CEO. “And we are grateful for the opportunity to defend and evolve the DNAs for niches that have long been our sweet spot, such as vegetables and turf.

“This move is part of Gowan’s continued efforts to deliver solid chemistry to help solve our customers’ needs.”

“These products have been essential to modern weed control, and our sale of the DNA business doesn’t diminish this history as we look to the future and invest in innovative and differentiated products,” says Ramiro De La Cruz, vice president of crop protection for Dow AgroSciences.