Melbourne, Australia; 14 June 2017: Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced that it has completed a transaction to sell its agrochemicals and Priostar^® business (Starpharma Agrochemicals) to Agrium, Inc., (Agrium) (NYSE: AGU, TSE: AGU) for A$35 million in cash consideration. The Starpharma Agrochemical business willl be operated by Agrium’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Loveland Products, Inc.

Starpharma Agrochemicals is comprised of key patents and technical know-how as well as a small number of staff dedicated solely to Priostar^® dendrimers and agrochemicals operations. This business is independent of Starpharma’s DEP^® and VivaGel^® products and related intellectual property portfolios.

The cash proceeds from the sale of Starpharma Agrochemicals have further strengthened Starpharma’s balance sheet and will allow Starpharma to focus its resources and activities on its core pharmaceutical development portfolios, including DEP^® drug delivery. Starpharma intends to use the funds to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its higher-value pharmaceutical dendrimer-based products and to explore other opportunities in this area of the business. With the net proceeds from the transaction, Starpharma estimates a cash balance of greater than $60 million at 30 June 2017.

Commenting on the transaction, Starpharma Chief Executive Officer, Dr Jackie Fairley said: “The sale of Starpharma Agrochemicals is an exciting milestone for the company and the culmination of our strategy to maximise the value of the Priostar^® technology. We achieved this outcome through the development of a range of value-added formulations utilising Priostar^® to a stage where those products had high attraction value as differentiated products for a market-facing third party such as Agrium. It’s a very pleasing outcome, Agrium is an ideal buyer to realise the full potential of Priostar^®”.

“The proceeds from the sale of Starpharma Agrochemicals places Starpharma in an excellent financial position to expand and accelerate the development of its internal DEP^® programs, and increase shareholder value through its pharmaceutical portfolio.”

The transaction involves the sale of Starpharma’s wholly-owned US subsidiary, Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc., and a newly created Australian subsidiary containing all Priostar^® and agrochemical intellectual property and business assets.

The sale of Starpharma’s Agrochemicals business to Agrium follows a global process conducted by Starpharma and its financial adviser, Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited.

A copy of Agrium’s news release is available at: www.agrium.com/en/investors/news-releases.

Investor Conference Call:

An investor conference call will be conducted at 11:00am (AEST) today to discuss the sale of Starpharma Agrochemicals.

Melbourne/Sydney (Aust), Wednesday 14^th, 11am (AEST)  1 800 558 698

San Francisco (US), Tuesday 13^th, 6pm (PDT)                    (855) 881 1339

New York (US), Tuesday 13^th, 9pm (EDT)                            (855) 881 1339

London (UK), Wednesday 14^th, 2am (BST)                           0800 051 8245

Hong Kong, Wednesday 14^th, 9am (HKT)                             800 966 806

Singapore, Wednesday 14^th, 9am (SGT)                               800 101 2785

Please quote conference ID: 258440

To register please go to https://services.choruscall.com.au/diamondpass/buchan-258440-invite.html

About Starpharma Agrochemicals

The Starpharma Agrochemicals business develops proprietary products based on its unique Priostar^® dendrimer technology – which is used to enhance crop protection products. The suite of enhanced products under development provide numerous benefits over existing products – such as improved weed control capabilities, higher seedling density and reduced environmental impacts. Starpharma Agrochemicals has partnerships with a number of global partners to enhance agricultural formulations, including with Adama for 2,4-D herbicides in the US. 

About Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU, TSE: AGU)

Agrium Inc. is a major global producer and distributor of agricultural products, services and solutions. Agrium produces nitrogen, potash and phosphate fertilizers, with a combined wholesale nutrient capacity of over nine million tonnes. Agrium also supplies key products and services directly to growers, including crop nutrients, crop protection, seed, as well as agronomic and application services. Agrium’s retail-distribution has over 1,500 facilities and over 3,800 crop consultants who provide advice and products to growers. For more information visit: www.agrium.com.

About Loveland Products, Inc.

Loveland Products, Inc. offers a complete line of high-performance input products to the global agricultural and professional non-crop industries. Loveland Products' diversified portfolio of premium products consists of seed treatment, plant nutrition, fertilizer, adjuvant and crop protection products, which are available through Agrium Retail in North America, South America and Australia, and through distribution partners in over 40 countries globally. For more information visit:  www.lovelandproducts.com.

Download ASX Announcement: Starpharma sells Agrochemicals business to Agrium for $35M (pdf file, 179kb)

Download ASX Announcement: Sale of Agrochemicals Business Investor Presentation (pdf file, 986kb)