Monsanto to sales and distribution facilities in 51 countries. In 2005, it finalized the purchase of Seminis Inc, a leading global vegetable and fruit seed company, for $1.4 billion. This made it the world's largest conventional seed company. In 1999 Monsanto sold off NutraSweet Co. In December of the same year, Monsanto agreed to merge with Pharmacia & Upjohn, in a deal valuing the transaction at $27 billion. The agricultural division became a wholly owned subsidiary of the "new" Pharmacia; Monsanto's medical research division, which included products such as Celebrex. In 2000: Pharmacia spun off its agro-biotech subsidiary into a new
Edgar Monsanto Queeny the founders of the company's research and development laboratory. Edgar M. Queeny Park in Town and Country, MO is named after him. Edgar Monsanto Queeny Edgar Monsanto Queeny (September 29, 1897 - July 7, 1968) was a US industrialist, chairman of the Monsanto corporation from 1928 until his retirement in 1960. Edgar Monsanto Queeny was the son of John Francis Queeny and his wife, Olga Méndez Monsanto. In the First World War, he served as a seaman in the US Navy. Edgar Monsanto Queeny took over the leadership of Monsanto, which had been founded by his father, in 1928. At