Nutreco and ForFarmers have signed an agreement on the intended sale of Hendrix to ForFarmers for €92.5 million.
As part of the transaction, Nutreco and ForFarmers have entered into a long-term strategic partnership. "The intended sale of Hendrix to ForFarmers is in line with Nutreco's strategy to participate in the consolidation of the compound feed industry in mature markets such as the Netherlands and Belgium," said Wout Dekker, CEO of Nutreco. "After intensive examination of the strategic options, we came to the conclusion that in a consolidating market, the sale of Hendrix to ForFarmers provides best future opportunities for Hendrix and its stakeholders. ForFarmers is a strong and excellent new owner for Hendrix and a long term strategic partner for Nutreco."
Nutreco and ForFarmers plan to conclude a definitive agreement upon completion of required consultation with the relevant works councils. It is expected that completion of the transaction will take place in the first quarter of 2012 upon ForFarmers gaining regulatory approval from the European anti-competition authorities and shareholder approval. Approximately 690 employees that work for Hendrix will transfer to ForFarmers.
Nutreco has said that it plans to focus on premix, feed specialties and fish feed and to expand in those emerging markets where it expects the greatest increases in production and consumption of animal protein food products, such as Latin America, Russia, China and southeast Asia.
