ADM to sell global cocoa business to Olam
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) said it will sell its global cocoa business to Olam International Limited for $1.3 billion.
“We are continuing to actively manage our portfolio to create shareholder value by improving returns and dampening the volatility of our earnings,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “This transaction will allow us to redeploy capital to investments that offer improved returns potential and less volatility than the cocoa business, or distribute excess capital to shareholders, or a combination of both.”
The sale encompasses ADM’s entire global cocoa business, including processing facilities in Mississauga, Canada; Koog aan de Zaan and Wormer, Netherlands; Mannheim, Germany; Ilhéus, Brazil; Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; Kumasi, Ghana; and Singapore.
The deal also includes ADM’s buying stations in Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Indonesia, as well as the company’s deZaan and UNICAO brands.
ADM said a majority of the approximately 1,550 employees in its cocoa business will transfer to Olam.
The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015. The transaction does not impact the sale of ADM’s chocolate business to Cargill.
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