YUMA, ARIZONA (July 18, 2008). On the first of January 2006, Gowan Comércio Internacional e Serviços Limitada (GCIS), a wholly owned Portuguese subsidiary of Gowan Company, LLC (Gowan), a US specialty Crop Protection Company based in Yuma, Arizona, acquired a 50% stake in Sariaf from Sipcam S.p.A. and Oxon Italia S.p.A. GCIS’ acquisition resulted in the formation of Sariaf Gowan, which was owned jointly by GCIS and Sipcam.

Since that time Sariaf Gowan has doubled its sales and now has a significant share of the Italian crop protection market.

In a further strengthening of the resources available to Sariaf Gowan to support continued growth, Margarita Internacional Comércio e Serviços (Margarita), a company based in Madeira, has acquired 70% of the shares held by Sipcam so that the shareholder structure is now GCIS 50%, Margarita 35% and Sipcam 15%.
Margarita Internacional is an investment firm which invests in the development and growth of numerous companies, providing financial support for strategic and operational initiatives. There is a close working relationship between Margarita and GCIS.

Commenting upon this partial divestiture, Giovanni Affaba, Managing Director of Sipcam, said “We are very pleased with the success of the partnership with GCIS in developing and rapidly growing the Sariaf Gowan business. A strong strategic relationship with GCIS is important to Sipcam and this will be maintained even with a smaller shareholding in Sariaf Gowan.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Gowan, Juli Jessen, stressed the strategic nature of this change in ownership of Sariaf Gowan. “The Italian market is very important to the overall Gowan business which is enjoying strong growth in Europe despite many regulatory challenges. This investment by Margarita provides further resources to strengthen our position inside the European Union. We are very pleased by the way in which GCIS and Sipcam have worked together to develop the business in Italy and we look forward to continued cooperation between the two companies.”

Juli went on to say; “The performance by the entire Sariaf Gowan team over the past few years has been remarkable. Doubling sales in the current business environment is a unique achievement that bodes well for the future. Their performance sustains and renews our commitment to growth in other European markets.”

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tom Geise
Gowan Company
(928) 819-1537
tgeise@gowanco.com