Cargill To Buy Provimi For $2.1 Billion

Agribusiness giant Cargill will buy Dutch animal nutrition firm Provimi for $2.1 billion. Cargill made the binding offer to Provimi's owner, the private equity company, Permira funds.

Provimi sells nutritional additives for farm animal feeds. The company had $2.3 billion in sales in 2010, and employs 7,000 people in 23 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Cargill, also privately held, reported yearly revenue of $119.5 billion. Cargill buys and processes grain, and has an animal nutrition and feed business that includes feed ingredients.

In late June, media speculation that Provimi would be for sale prompted Dutch chemical firm DSM to confirm reports that it had joined with another Netherlands-based company, animal nutrition firm Nutreco, to try to acquire Provimi. DSM sells carotenoids, feed enzymes and vitamins to the animal feed market. It has estimated that the nutritional additives segment is worth just under $11 billion annually, with an average growth rate of 2-4%. DSM lists Cargill as a major customer of its products.

"Provimi's excellence in cutting edge technology and application, alongside Cargill's global supply chain and market insights should enable us together to develop and deliver a range of innovative, high quality products and services to customers," commented Todd Hall, Cargill corporate vice president in a statement. Cargill has been growing its animal feed presence in Europe. In July, it acquired Italian animal nutrition company, Raggio di Sole Mangimi S.p.A.

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