DuPont announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Verdia, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maxygen, Inc headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, DuPont will purchase the plant sciences company for US $ 64 million in cash.

By purchasing Verdia, DuPont will have worldwide, royalty-free, exclusive rights to use Maxygen's MolecularBreeding directed evolution platform (gene shuffling) for agricultural applications across its Agriculture & Nutrition platform.

"Verdia will significantly enhance our gene research and trait discovery capabilities," said Jim Miller, DuPont vice president, Crop Genetics Research and Development. "The technology should allow us to reach research targets up to three years faster and more efficiently."

The gene shuffling technology should help Pioneer identify and develop a number of new traits to help plants survive environmental stress, including drought - a universal challenge causing more than US $ 8 billion in losses for farmers globally. Pioneer also plans to use the technology to develop crops that more efficiently utilize key inputs such as nitrogen. Each year, US farmers apply an average of 136 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, which have cost farmers an average of US $ 40 per acre over the past 10 years.