Honduras - English
Louis Dreyfus Commodities Group acquires Ecoval Holding BV.
Published: Oct 02, 2012

Rotterdam, (2nd October 2012) – Louis Dreyfus Commodities Group (“LDC”) which is headquartered in The Netherlands, is pleased to announce it has successfully concluded the purchase of all outstanding shares of Ecoval Holding BV (“Ecoval”) of Nijmegen (The Netherlands) from the current shareholders Prominter N.V. of Dilbeek (Belgium) and CV Datrex Beheer of Wijk en Aalburg (The Netherlands). This follows the announcement in June 2012 and subsequent satisfaction of all closing conditions.

Ecoval is a privately-held leading international dairy trading company with presence in the international trade flows of a broad variety of dairy products and derivatives. With over €500 million in global turnover in 2011 and handling over 250,000 metric tons of dairy products, Ecoval has been serving suppliers and customers worldwide for close to a century. The business is supported by offices in The Netherlands, U.S.A., Australia, Argentina, China, Poland and Belgium.

LDC is a global merchandiser of commodities, a major asset owner and a processor of agricultural goods. With more than 160 years of experience, our portfolio has grown to include Oilseeds, Grains, Rice, Freight, Finance, Juice, Cotton, Coffee, Sugar, Metals, Dairy and Fertilizers & Inputs. Additionally we participate in industrial sugarcane activities, operating 13 sugar mills through Biosev in Brazil. Our diversified activities span the value chain where we operate from farm to fork. Dedicated to providing sustenance for our planet, today we help to feed and clothe up to 500 million people, originating, processing and transporting approximately 70 million tons of food around the world annually.

The LDC group is owned 80% by the Louis Dreyfus Group with the balance held by employees. LDC is present in more than 55 countries and employs more than 35,000 people globally at peak season.

Mr Ciro Echesortu, Global Chief Operating Officer for LDC said “This acquisition is a significant step for the development of LDC’s dairy platform and will put our goal to become a top three player in the dairy markets on a fast track. While already active in the origination of raw milk we will now expand our portfolio with the full range of products including milk powders, butter fats, whey products and cheeses, aiming for a quadrupling of volumes within a period of six years.

The ever changing global agricultural landscape and economic environment will bring opportunities and challenges making it ever more important to partner with a solid, reliable, flexible and skilled company that has high integrity and strong governance. We want to welcome the people of Ecoval to our company”.

Paul van Wagensveld, Platform Head of Dairy Division said: “We are convinced that Ecoval’s dairy expertise, combined with LDC’s global presence and risk management expertise, will allow us to become the preferred partner for suppliers and customers that not only offers products and logistics, but also crucial market information and financial services such as hedge strategies and investments in the value chain.”