Nutreco announced Oct. 30 that it has signed an agreement to acquire Cargill’s compound feed business in Portugal for an undisclosed price.

Once the deal is completed, the business will become part of Nanta, Nutreco's Iberian animal feed business within its Trouw Nutrition animal nutrition division, the announcement said. The deal is expected to strengthen Nanta's position in Portugal.

“We are delighted to announce that Nutreco has signed a deal to acquire such a reputable business,” said Nutreco chief operating officer and Trouw Nutrition chief executive officer Harm de Wildt. “Closing this transaction is part of our strategy to strengthen and grow our base in the Iberian Peninsula.”

The deal covers Cargill's production of compound feed for the Portuguese market, mainly ruminant feed and lifestyle feed, which is sold both directly to professional farmers and through a network of dealers and retail stores, Nutreco said.

Cargill's two plants in Portugal — one in the north in Ovar and one in the center-south in Alverca — will transfer to Nutreco as part of the deal, increasing Nanta's footprint in Portugal from its current one plant in Marco de Canaveses to three, thus allowing for production optimization.

Cargill's premix and nutrition business in Portugal is not included in the transaction.

“The sale of our compound feed business in Portugal reflects our efforts to geographically align assets in our portfolio with our strategy to focus on core nutritional excellence. It also creates further growth opportunities for our business and our people with an organization that has a strong appetite for investment and will continue delivering in the best long-term interests of both our customers and employees,” said Jolanda van Haarlem, regional managing director for Cargill's animal nutrition business for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Nanta already has a fully fledged organization in Portugal, which will take over management of Cargill's compound feed operations in Portugal, Nutreco added.

Nutreco managing director Iberia Gerd Botter explained, “We will be working closely together with Cargill's compound feed business in Portugal to ensure a proper integration of the business as soon as possible after all necessary authorizations have been given. Doing so will ensure that customers continue to get the products they need as they need them and at a quality level they're used to. Expanding our base in this way will improve our services to our existing customer base in Portugal while providing Nutreco a great platform for growth.”

The transaction is subject to approval from Portuguese authorities and is expected to be completed in three to five months.

Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and aquaculture feed. It employs more than 12,000 people in 37 countries and had net sales of 6.4 billion euros in 2018. Nutreco is a wholly owned subsidiary of SHV Holdings N.V., a family-owned multinational company with net sales of 20.1 billion euros in 2018.

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