NETHERLANDS — Viterra Ltd. has announced that it has completed the acquisition of grain and ingredients business Gavilon Agriculture Investment Inc. (Gavilon), a wholly owned US-based subsidiary of Marubeni America Corp., for US$1.125 billion, plus working capital and subject to certain price adjustments.
Gavilon, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, US, originates, stores and distributes grains and oilseeds, as well as feed and food ingredients to domestic and global markets.
According to Sosland Publishing’s 2022 Grain & Milling Annual, the company has 105 grain storage facilities and total grain storage capacity of 345.447 million bushels. The company’s assets are distributed in major growing areas across the US, with access to major railroads, rivers and ports.
Gavilon was established in 2008 with the sale by Conagra Foods Inc. of its Trading and Merchandising business to Ospraie Management LLC Special Opportunities Fund in a US$2.1 billion transaction. With the sale, the business was renamed Gavilon LLC. The business was later acquired by Marubeni for US$2.7 billion in 2013.
Marubeni said the decision to sell Gavilon’s grain business followed re-evaluations of its grain business strategies and goals, and reflected the uptrend in the grain supply industry and Gavilon’s good outcomes recently. As part of its post-divestiture strategy, Marubeni said it is “looking to enhance the ability of its grain business to meet demand for grain in the Asian market, especially Japan, a focus area for the business.”
This acquisition further strengthens our global network by providing us with a material presence in every major exporting region and makes us one of the largest origination businesses in our industry
Viterra’s intent to acquire Gavilon’s assets was first announced in January. “Gavilon’s business has all the key attributes that support our long-term strategic plan and allows us to provide additional value to our customers at origination and destination,” said David Mattiske, chief executive officer of Viterra.
“This acquisition further strengthens our global network by providing us with a material presence in every major exporting region and makes us one of the largest origination businesses in our industry.”
Viterra is the crop trading business spun out of Glencore back in November 2020. Viterra has more than 17,500 employees operating in 37 countries, and its network of storage, processing and transport assets connects producers and consumers to supply sustainable, traceable and quality-controlled agricultural products.
According to Sosland Publishing’s 2022 Grain & Milling Annual, Viterra has 85 grain storage facilities with a total storage capacity of 120.36 million bushels in North America.
Effective immediately, Viterra will integrate Gavilon into its global network and in early 2023 will implement the Viterra brand across the business.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Gavilon’s employees to the Viterra team,” Mattiske said. “I look forward to a smooth integration as we work together to generate further opportunities for our employees and customers, while creating added value for our shareholders and investors.”
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