In The Netherlands, the transaction includes Cargill’s soybean and rapeseed crush and soybean oil refining facility in the Port of Amsterdam as well as part of the bulk port terminal assets dedicated to supporting discharge and storage of raw materials for the crush plant.
In France, Bunge will acquire Cargill’s soybean and rapeseed crush facility located in the Port of Brest. The aggregate annual processing capacity at the two locations is approximately two million tonnes. Employees associated with the business (120 in The Netherlands and 51 in France) will transfer to Bunge.
Bunge said the assets are complementary to its existing soy processing operations in Europe, and will allow the company to further expand its global oilseed processing footprint into key Northern European destinations, grow its presence in Europe’s protein market, and further optimize global flows and logistics to serve customers. Industrial operations and business activities will be integrated within Bunge’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional operations and global soy crush platform, the company said.
Cargill said it will retain its two other soybean processing facilities in Western Europe, in the ports of Barcelona in Spain and Liverpool in the U.K. The company has a network of plants processing and refining other oilseeds and tropical oils across Europe and it continues to focus on serving its customers and growing its longer term business in this region.
The deal with Cargill is the latest in a series of transactions for Bunge, which has been partnering with companies across the world as it seeks to grow its business. In June, Bunge announced a joint venture with Wilmar, a crush operation in Vietnam, to further expand into Asia.
In July, Bunge announced a joint venture expansion with Amaggi in São Paulo, Brazil, to operate on the route known as the Northern Corridor via the Tapajós waterway. Also in Brazil, Bunge acquired Moinho Pacifico, a Brazilian wheat flour miller, in August 2015.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including competition clearance and employee consultation.
