The announcement of a new partnership was the plant food growing FMC's (FMC +0.30%) stock price during Wednesday's trading session. The agricultural sciences company's shares advanced to close the day more than 5% higher, a percentage rate that trounced the essentially flat performance of the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.16%).
Collaborating with Corteva
Just after market close on Tuesday, FMC announced that it has signed a "strategic agreement" with agribusiness peer Corteva Agriscience (CTVA 0.29%). According to FMC, the deal will bolster its fungicide technology in the domestic corn and soybean markets.
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FMC and Corteva have agreed to market fluindapyr, FMC's fungicide, to growers of those crops. FMC is to continue offering its Adastrio fungicide containing the chemical, while Corteva has committed to launching a fluindapyr-based product at the start of next year's growing season.
According to FMC, American corn and soybean agriculture comprise around 95 million and 80 million planted acres, respectively, so together they form a considerable market.
To capitalize on this, FMC quoted president Ronaldo Pereira as saying that it and Corteva are "providing more growers with access to the advanced tools they need to effectively combat costly and challenging diseases, helping them protect yield potential and maximize their return on investment."
NYSE: FMC
Key Data Points
Almost certainly a good deal
FMC did not provide the financial particulars of its new tie-up with Corteva, nor did it supply the finer details of the agreement. Despite that, it's clearly a win for the company, as this is a big partnership in the U.S. agriculture science space that could expand its customer base substantially. Investors were right to bid the stock up on the news.
