São Martinho and Amyris to invest in new plant
O Estado de S. Paulo
Grupo São Martinho has announced the execution of a final agreement with the American company Amyris Biotechnologies for the creation of a joint venture that will produce chemical specialties from sugarcane syrup.
The final agreement foresees the construction of a new chemical plant beside Usina São Martinho, in Pradópolis (SP), in which each company will hold 50% of interest. "With investments of US$ 35 million, the unit to be built by the joint venture, named SMA Indústria Química S.A., will use 1 million tons of sugarcane supplied by Usina São Martinho", said the President of the Grupo São Martinho, Fábio Venturelli.
According to him, unlike what was announced in the preliminary agreement entered into in December with Amyris, Usina Boa Vista, owned by the Grupo São Martinho, shall not be included in the negotiation. According to the pre-agreement, Amyris would have 40% of interest in Usina Boa Vista, located in Quirinópolis, interior of Goiás. "We decided to keep 100% of the control of Boa Vista because shifting the production to Usina São Martinho there would be no reason to dispose of Usina Boa Vista", said Venturelli, who recently announced investments of R$ 145 million (US$ 80.6 million) in the Goiás-based plant.