ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — Viterra Ltd. announced Oct. 3 that it has closed its stock purchase agreement to acquire the grain and ingredients business of Gavilon Agriculture Investment Inc. (Gavilon), a wholly owned US-based subsidiary of Marubeni America Corp., for $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. Gavilon’s assets are in major growing areas across the US, with access to major railroads, rivers and ports. The company has 105 grain storage facilities and total grain storage capacity of 345.447 million bushels, according to Sosland Publishing’s 2022 Grain & Milling Annual.
Viterra’s intent to acquire Gavilon’s assets was first announced in January. 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 $2.1 billion transaction. With the sale, the business was renamed Gavilon LLC. The business was later acquired by Marubeni for $2.7 billion in 2013.
“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.”
