M&A

NEWS BITES

M&A

NOVOZYMES AND CHR. HANSEN TO JOIN

Denmark’s Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have announced merger plans. The combined entity will have a network of 38 R&D and application centres, and 23 manufacturing sites, and bring in annual revenue of approximately €3.5 billion.

ADISSEO TO ACQUIRE NOR-FEED

Adisseo will acquire phytogenic feed additives company NorFeed, the two French companies revealed this December. NorFeed will continue to autonomously manage its R&D, production and sales network.

DARLING INGREDIENTS BUYING POLAND’S MIROPASZ GROUP

Darling Ingredients has said it will acquire Polish rendering company Miropasz Group for approximately €110 million. Miropasz processes around 250,000 tonnes/year at its three poultry rendering plants in southeast Poland.

NUTRECO ACQUIRES DANISH MINERALS AND PREMIX PROVIDER

Nutreco has purchased Mosegården, a Danish livestock nutrition supplier. Mosegården’s portfolio for cattle and swine is focused on minerals and premixes.

CHERKIZOVO EXPANDS VIA MULTIPLE ACQUISITIONS

Russia’s Cherkizovo Group acquired the poultry, crop and feed production businesses of Ufa agricultural holding at auction for around RUB 6.37 billion, giving it a leading position in the poultry market of the Ural mountain regions; it went on to sell part of this operation, Bashkir Poultry Farm, a table egg operation, shortly thereafter.

In a similar transaction, it purchased the assets of Zdorovaya Ferma for RUB 5 billion, adding 120,000 tonnes of live weight poultry production capacity and 240,000 tonnes of feed production capacity.

It also acquired the swine-focused Vishnevsky Genetics and Breeding Center in Q4.

PINTALUBA ACQUIRES LEK VETERINA

Spain’s Pintaluba Group acquired Lek Veterina, a Slovenian supplier of premixes, nutritional supplements and animal health products, expanding its activities in the Balkans and its liquid and water-soluble powder portfolios. BACHOCO ANNOUNCES NORSON ACQUISITION

Mexican meat firm Bachoco S.A.B. de C.V. announced plans to acquire pork producer and exporter Norson Holding. Based in Sonora, Norson’s business includes genetics, hog farms, feed mills, slaughter and cut facilities, value added facilities, distributions centers and owned retail shops.

MOWI TO ACQUIRE ICELANDIC SALMON FARMER

Mowi has agreed to acquire 51.28% of the shares in Arctic Fish, a leading salmon farmer in Iceland. Arctic Fish has licenses for 10 ASC approved sites and expects to harvest 10,600 GWT in 2022.

MARS PETCARE ANNOUNCES CHAMPION PETFOODS ACQUISITION

Mars Petcare is planning to acquire Canada’s Champion Petfoods from an investor group led by Bedford Capital and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. Champion employs around 800 people and produces pet food sold in more than 90 countries.

UNITED PETFOOD ACQUIRES UK BUSINESS AND EU-BASED PLANTS

United Petfood has announced plans to acquire Gold Line Feeds in the UK. Based in Northamptonshire, Gold Line Feeds supplies about 20,000 tonnes of dry pet food each year. Gold Line Feeds was spun off from Dodson & Horrell in 2020.

In a separate transaction, the Belgian private label pet food company acquired two production sites from Cargill: one in Krzepice, Poland, and the other in Karcag, Hungary.

JV BETWEEN FORFARMERS AND BOPARAN REQUIRES FURTHER INVESTIGATION

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s Phase 1 investigation found the possibility of competition concerns arising from the proposed animal feed joint venture between ForFarmers UK and 2 Agriculture Limited (part of Boparan). In spite of the businesses’ subsequent proposals to address these concerns, the authority recommended an in-depth investigation of the deal in early January.

MILK SPECIALTIES GLOBAL CHANGES HANDS

Milk Specialties Global was acquired by Butterfly, a private equity firm. Milk Specialties Global is a vertically integrated ingredient manufacturer focused on processing raw dairy inputs into functional ingredients for human and animal nutrition. Its animal nutrition portfolio includes rumen-protected amino acids, choline, and other feed additives.

CARGILL ENTERS ECUADORIAN SHRIMP FEED JV

Cargill and Naturisa in Ecuador are creating a new shrimp feed joint venture (JV) with Skyvest EC Holding S.A. Through this JV, Cargill will own and operate the shrimp feed production facility located in Guayaquil, which is currently owned by Skyvest subsidiary Empagran. Cargill says it plans to invest in the facility and expand its shrimp feed offerings.