MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. — Cargill announced on Oct. 8 that it has completed the acquisition of EWOS, a leading supplier of feed to the international aquaculture industry, for €1.35 billion ($1.52 billion).

EWOS produces more than 1.2 million tonnes of salmon feed for the biggest salmon producers in the world. It operates in all four the world’s major salmon farming regions: Norway, Chile, Canada and Scotland. In addition, EWOS has entered the feed market in Vietnam.

In August, Cargill entered into an agreement with Altor Fund III and Bain Capital Europe III to acquire EWOS. The deal closed after meeting all necessary country regulatory approvals.

The acquisition makes Cargill’s animal nutrition business a leading player in the growing salmon feed industry, one of the most advanced and professionally managed segments in global aquaculture, the company said.
“The combination of Cargill and EWOS is a fantastic, long-term growth story,” said Joe Stone, Cargill corporate vice-president. “We are creating the global leader in aquaculture nutrition, enabling world-class R&D, delivering innovative products and solutions and creating opportunities for the industry, our customers and our employees through shared values that will propel our growth.”

Einar Wathne, EWOS chief executive officer, will continue in his leadership role under Cargill ownership and assume responsibility as president of Cargill Aqua Nutrition. In his role, Wathne will be based in Bergen, Norway, and be part of the Cargill Animal Nutrition leadership team, along with Sarena Lin, president of Cargill Feed & Nutrition, and David Webster, president of Cargill Premix & Nutrition.

“Through our joined efforts, we will bring together the world’s leading talent in research, nutrition and sustainable innovation to develop nutrition solutions that enable farmers to continue to grow their supply of healthy seafood, improve food production efficiency and reduce their impact on the environment,” Wathne said. “Under Cargill ownership, we will continue to have a significant presence in Norway, Chile and our other countries across the world. Norway and Chile are the globally leading salmon markets where we have built sophisticated competence and state of the art research centers.”

As announced, Cargill will now have an additional 1,000 employees across seven feed manufacturing facilities; three in Norway, and one each in Chile, Canada, Scotland and Vietnam, as well as two state-of-the-art R&D centers located in Norway and Chile.

“Our newly integrated organization will create a powerful mix of market insight and expertise in innovation, nutrition formulation and global supply chains,” Lin said. “Our customers across all of our animal nutrition businesses will benefit by bringing our organizations together.”