Crop scientists at RTI International in RTP will soon have a new boss.

FMC Corporation, a $3.7 billion a year chemical company, announced early Monday that it has acquired RTI’s Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biosolutions. The center operates a research facility in the Triangle.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

RTI launched the CAEB in 2011. the stated goal of the center was “to unlock the mysteries of the plant-microbe interaction and apply that knowledge to a wide range of applications.”

The RTI deal was one of two disclosed by FMC (NYSE: FMC). The company also announced a partnership with crop science firm Chr. Hansen.

“We are excited to have found a like-minded company to commercialize CAEB’s science to deliver next generation agricultural biosolutions,” said RTI International President Wayne Holden. “Of the many companies with which we interacted, FMC showed itself to be most closely aligned with our vision for the use of the technology and will provide the best opportunity to take CAEB’s technology further to improve the human condition.”

The deal for the RTI group gives FMC “a proprietary discovery and development platform through the addition of a state-of-the art research facility, a team of accomplished scientists, a pipeline of biological products in various stages of development and a world-class library of microbes with deep intellectual property assets, including patent-pending technologies,” the company said.

Dr. Daniel van der Lelie, the founder of the Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biosolutions, praised FMC.

“Over the years, FMC has distinguished itself as a company uniquely in tune with the needs of growers,” he said in a statement. “Everyone at CAEB is passionate about developing greener solutions that protect crops, promote growth, and increase farm yields. We are pleased to join FMC and work with our new colleagues to develop and market new solutions that are both effective and sustainable.”

The two deals will enable FMC’s Agricultural Solutions business to offer “an end-to-end biological platform that complements its traditional strengths in synthetic crop protection chemistries,” the company said.

“We are impressed with CAEB’s extensive intellectual property, as well as its proven capabilities of scouting and screening for new technologies with the potential to bring value to growers around the world,” FMC Agricultural Solutions President Marc Hullebroeck added.

The state goals of the CAEB included:

  • Sustainable, economically viable agricultural development via green biotechnology, including biofertilizers, alternative pesticides and herbicides, and value-added uses for agricultural waste products
  • An ethnobotany program that scans the United States and the world to identify and develop the potential of plant and agricultural resources and practices
  • Renewable energy derived from plants and agricultural wastes, using methods that reduce competition for valuable agricultural resources
  • Food safety and consumer protection
  • Scientific and public policy aspects of environmental contamination and bioremediation