FMC Corporation and Cross-Border M&A Advisors to Address Joint Venture and Toll Manufacturing Deal Structures at Singapore Agrochemical Workshop
FMC Corporation's Paul Brandeis and independent M&A advisor Raghunathan Hariharan will speak at the Global Pesticide JV & Toll Manufacturing Workshop, organised by Pacific Agriscience Pte Ltd in Singapore on July 9–10, 2026. Brandeis, Regional Head of Manufacturing at FMC, will address how global agrochemical companies evaluate and qualify toll manufacturing partners. Hariharan advises clients on pre-deal due diligence, post-deal value creation, and business transformation, and also supports international companies in developing their India strategy and contract manufacturing opportunities in the chemical and crop protection sectors. The sessions are aimed at companies exploring joint venture structures, toll manufacturing agreements, and cross-border expansion in the agrochemicals space — a sector where deal complexity is driven by regulatory divergence, supply-chain concentration risk, and the growing role of Indian and Chinese contract manufacturers. The event sits against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny of global agrochemical supply chains following commodity price volatility and geopolitical disruption to key input markets.
Why this matters
Agrochemical JVs and toll manufacturing agreements are structurally complex transactions: they sit at the intersection of competition law, IP licensing, export controls, and multi-jurisdictional regulatory approval. The participation of a major listed company (FMC, NYSE: FMC) signals that cross-border manufacturing partnerships are an active priority rather than theoretical deal flow. India's growing role as a contract manufacturing hub adds a layer of foreign direct investment and technology-transfer analysis that deal counsel cannot ignore. For practitioners, the combination of a multinational corporate perspective and an independent advisory perspective in one forum is a useful indicator of where deal structures in this sector are heading.
On the Ground
A trainee on an agrochemical JV matter should map the regulatory approval pathway in each target jurisdiction before structuring the transaction. Review the IP ownership and licensing provisions carefully — toll manufacturing agreements frequently leave ambiguity around improvements and derivative formulations. Flag any export-control or dual-use issues where active ingredients are involved.
Interview prep
Soundbite
Agrochemical JVs stack regulatory, IP, and supply-chain risk into a single transaction.
Question you might get
“What are the key legal risks in a cross-border agrochemical toll manufacturing agreement, and how do you structure IP protections for the brand owner?”
Full answer
Toll manufacturing agreements in agrochemicals require counsel to resolve several competing tensions simultaneously. The manufacturer typically wants to retain IP in any process improvements, while the brand owner wants to capture those improvements under the original licensing terms. Add in export-control regimes — particularly where active ingredients have dual-use potential — and multi-jurisdictional competition clearance for any JV that consolidates market share, and the deal workstreams multiply quickly. India strategy work adds a further layer, because foreign ownership restrictions and technology-transfer rules vary by sector and change with policy cycles. Getting the governance structure right at the outset is cheaper than litigating it post-closing.
My notes
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