A Richardson International Limited subsidiary, Richardson Oilseed (U.S.) Holdings Limited, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Italgrani USA Inc., the single largest durum miller in North America.
Richardson says this purchase moves it towards its vision to diversify processing operations.
As part of the deal, Richardson will acquire a milling facility in St. Louis, Missouri, which specializes in semolina and durum flour products, as well as storage and crop inputs facilities situated at Tolley, Powers Lake, and Benedict in North Dakota, and a commodity trading office at Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“This acquisition is fully aligned with our long-term strategic goals of diversification, geographic expansion, and an increased presence in food processing – having gone from canola to oats and now to durum processing,” says Curt Vossen, president and CEO of Richardson International. “The significant scale of processing capability of the Italgrani plant, combined with origination opportunities and crop inputs retail facilities, all included in this transaction, will further enhance the services we will be able to offer to our producer customers, both in Canada and the U.S.”
The purchase agreement will close immediately following receipt of all requisite regulatory approvals, resulting in Richardson owning 100 per cent of the shares of Italgrani USA. Richardson says it will retain the current workforce of Italgrani USA.
“The Italgrani team is pleased to be joining the Richardson International family of companies and looks forward to working together to further grow and expand the Italgrani USA business footprint,” says James Meyer, president, Italgrani USA. “Our two companies are well aligned in that we are both focused on customer service, innovative solutions, and being good stewards of resources.”
