AT CLOSING NEWS.

AGCO Corp., Duluth, Ga., has entered into an agreement to acquire Ag-Chem Equipment Co., Inc., Minnetonka, Minn. The transaction will merge Ag-Chem with a wholly owned subsidiary of AGCO under an agreement that will provide Ag-Chem shareholders with a combination payment of cash and AGCO stock.

Tyson Foods Inc., Little Rock, Ark., has made a $2.8 billion bid to acquire IBP Inc., Dakota Dunes, S.D. Merging IBP with Tyson would create a company with 30 percent of the beef market, 33 percent of the chicken market and 18 percent of the pork market. IBP is considering the proposal in addition to competing bids from hog producer Smithfield Foods and a group including IBP senior management.

Smithfield Foods, Smithfield, Va., had submitted an unsolicited bid of $2.7 billion for IBP, topping an earlier bid by Rawhide Holdings Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners III, L.P.

ExSeed Genetics L.L.C., Owensboro, Ky., has entered into an agreement to sell all its assets to BASF Plant Science. ExSeed will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF Plant Science. ExSeed provides value-enhanced grains to feed, food and industrial markets under the brand name ExSeed Enhanced. Its current owners are Miles Enterprises, Koch Industries, and Zeneca, Inc.

Dow AgroSciences, Indianapolis, and Cheminova, Lemvig, Denmark, have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture to register and market a premium pyrethroid insecticide. The new company, Pytech Chemicals GmbH, will be based in Zurich. Products developed by Pytech Chemicals are expected to be introduced in the United States in 2003, with worldwide distribution occurring in 2004.

The World Agricultural Forum, a nonprofit organization that serves as the only neutral venue for global dialogue about issues critical to the supply of food, fiber and fuel to the world's growing population in an environmentally sustainable manner, has announced plans to hold its second biennial World Congress from May 20-22, 2001, in St. Louis. The theme of the Congress will be "A New Age in Agriculture: Feeding the World." The Congress will host more than 400 world leaders, including many heads of state, corporate CEOs, academic leaders and other interested parties.

The organization's first Congress in 1999 drew more than 350 agricultural leaders from around the world, including senior government officials from the United States and seven other countries. Its proceedings are available in book form and through the organization's Web site at www.worldagforum.org.

The Forum is funded through corporate donations and foundation grants. The Danforth Foundation has provided a $1 million grant to fund the organization's operations through 2003. The WAF is planning to launch a journal and hold regional conferences outside the United States to broaden participation.

Doane Agricultural Services Co., St. Louis, has been named by the WAF board of directors to head an effort to secure corporate sponsorships for the World Congress. Aziotics, a St. Louis-based company specializing in advising business relationships in Asia and the Pacific Rim, will assist Doane. For more information, contact Doane CEO Lynn Henderson at 800/535-2342.

Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis, agrees to acquire all outstanding shares of Agribrands International, Inc., St. Louis. Agribrands will be combined with Cargill Animal Nutrition to create an animal nutrition company with such brands as Purina and Nutrena. Richard Frasch, president of Cargill Animal Nutrition, will lead the new organization.