Agricultural conglomerate Cargill Inc. has bought Norwegian fish
feed producer EWOS for €1.35 billion ($1.49 billion), as it
continues to broaden its presence in the aquaculture industry, it
said on Monday.
"This transaction, which is significant and the second
aquaculture acquisition Cargill has announced in as many months,
is…evidence of our commitment to the growing aquaculture industry,"
said Cargill Chief Executive David MacLennan.
In early July, it announced a $30 million joint venture with
Naturisa to build a shrimp feed facility in Ecuador.
Cargill has bought EWOS from Altor Fund III and Bain Capital
Europe III, who have owned the company since 2013, and they will
remain invested in the fish-farming sector through their ownership
of Nova Austral in Chile.
EWOS holds around one third of the salmon-feed market, producing
more than 1.2 million metric tons of salmon feed a year.
As part of the transaction, Cargill will acquire seven feed
manufacturing facilities; three in Norway, and one each in Chile,
Canada, Scotland and Vietnam, as well as two research and
development centers in Norway and Chile.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
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