Makhteshim Agan Industries is considering a second listing to facilitate its quest for funds, after agreeing a $1.3bn US acquisition which will make the Israeli group bigger in agrichemicals than DuPont.

Erez Vigodman, who joined MA in January as chief executive, said the maker of generic herbicides would unveil further details of its financing of its takeover of Iowa-based Albaugh after completing due diligence and signing a "definitive" agreement in around two months time.

"There could be an equity listing outside of Israel," Mr Vigodman told analysts.

The comments followed MA's announcement on Monday of the takeover of Albaugh, which is solely owned by founder Dennis Albaugh, and which the Tel Aviv-based group intends to pay for with $340m in cash, $455m in debt, and 59m in shares, equivalent to a post-deal stake of 12%.

MA will also take on $280m in Albaugh debt.

Top rank

The combined company will boast sales of some $3bn a year, making it by far the biggest manufacturer of off-patent agrichemicals, ahead of Australia's Nufarm, and overtaking in the sector DuPont, the smallest of the big name research groups.

"It also addresses a number of key strategic challenges which we identified in the beginning of 2010."

Albaugh is the biggest maker of generic farming sprays in both North and South America, both markets in which MA has been attempting for years to expand.

MA has a 3% share in the US agrichemicals market, compared with 6% for Albaugh, and 21% for market leader Syngenta, the Swiss group.

Into the red

The deal will also enable cost savings of $50m-60m a year, enhancing MA's ability to compete in a sector which, especially in the glyphosate market, has seen a steep drop in margins, largely thanks to rivalry from Chinese groups.

Albaugh's own revenues slumped by 39% to $937 last year, sending it to a loss of about $45m at the level of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) compared with a profit of roughly $140m a year before.

Avraham Bigger, the MA chairman, said that Albaugh deal represented "compelling value".

MA shares closed up 2.1% at 14.10 shekels in Tel Aviv on Monday, taking to 3.3% their gains since the deal was unveiled on Sunday.