US food group Cargill has completed the acquisition of Zamanita, the soybean crushing and oil refining subsidiary of UK-listed Zambeef.
The US$25.7m deal first announced in February will see Cargill acquire all of Zamanita’s assets, including the Mama’s oil and Zamanita oil brands.
Zamanita’s 310 employees have transferred to Cargill as part of the deal.
Lezanne van Zyl, General Manager of Cargill in Zambia said: “Cargill will immediately start an extensive investment programme at the crush and refinery site in Lusaka, where upgrades will be made to machinery, tools and operational processes.
“Building on Zamanita’s existing strengths, we intend to bring this plant up to the high standards of quality, environmental health and safety that is associated with our company around the world. We will optimize the efficiency of the operation that will bring benefits to our customers in the food and feed sectors.”
Johan Steyn, head of Cargill’s grain and oilseeds business in the Middle East and Africa, added: “Acquiring this business is a strong indicator of Cargill’s intention to grow our business in Zambia.”
“We see excellent potential in the country’s agricultural sector and this investment is aligned with Cargill’s strategy to develop our offering to farmers. For many years we have focussed on working with small scale farmers in Zambia, enabling them to diversify into the cultivation of cash crops.
“Investing in soybean processing further enables Cargill to provide both small scale and commercial farmers with market access for their products. Our feed customers will also benefit from a high and consistent soybean meal quality, building on our worldwide experience as a leading soybean meal producer.”
Zambeef’s AIM-listed shares reached a 2015 high of 15.5p after news of the deal emerged in February, but have since fallen to 11.3p – significantly below the annual high of 26.5p recorded in August 2014.
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