Nufarm on buying spree?
Australian crop spray manufacturer, Nufarm, has confirmed it is considering a number of acquisitions overseas.
Speculation has Nufarm bidding for some chemical production assets held by ChemChina’s Israeli-based Adama business following the Chinese giant’s recent takeover of farm chemical and seed business, Syngenta.
The big US-based generic crop protection manufacturer, Albaugh, is also reported to be in Nufarm’s sights.
Nufarm said it was continuing to consider opportunities which may result from consolidation in the global agrichemical industry, but there was no guarantee that agreement would be reached in relation to any of the opportunities being pursued.
JBS sells chicken business
Brazilian-based meat giant, JBS, has sold its European poultry producer, Moy Park, to one of its own subsidiaries, the US-based Pilgrim’s Pride group.
JBS is selling Moy Park for about $1.6 billion.
Moy Park has a 25 per cent share of the western European chicken market.
Pilgrims Pride, which is 79pc owned by JBS, is itself potentially up for sale as JBS looks to pay a $4.10b fine to the Brazilian government after executives were involved bribery scandal implicating senior politicians and others..
Pilgrim's Pride agreed to the Moy Park purchase in a vote made by a special committee of three directors who the company said were "unaffiliated with JBS".
JBS said the deal would allow it to create a more efficient corporate structure and strong financial performance in the lead up to its plans to publicly list Pilgrims Pride in the US next year.
Joint venture in Russia
Animal health and nutrition companies Alltech and DLG Group are joining forces to help farmers in Russia improve their productivity.
The joint venture between the US and European based companies builds on previous collaboration initiatives and aims to strengthen their delivery of the latest in innovative animal nutrition in Eastern Europe, combining DLG’s premix manufacturing strengths with Alltech’s field-proven nutritional solutions.
Each will hold a 50 per cent share in the joint venture located in Orenburg, south of the Ural Mountains, in Russia.
Both of already have business operations across Europe.