Paris | Reuters –– Swiss grain trading group Ameropa said Monday it would not go ahead with the sale of German malting barley trader Interbrau GmbH to French co-operative group Vivescia, as conditions for the deal had not been met.
The companies entered into an agreement in mid-July for the takeover of Interbrau by Vivescia, parent of the world’s biggest maltster Malteurop, for an undisclosed amount. Ameropa said the deal was still subject to certain conditions.
Read Also
Feed Grains Weekly: Price likely to keep stepping back
As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
“These conditions have failed to materialize, and the parties have therefore terminated their negotiations,” it said in a statement without giving further details.
Ameropa is among the leading grain traders in central and eastern Europe. The company had said in July the deal with Vivescia came as it was making sizeable investments to enhance its grain origination infrastructure, including the construction of a new port terminal at Constanta in Romania.
“Whereas we believe that the transaction could have been beneficial to all parties involved, we are no less pleased that Interbrau will remain a member of the Ameropa Group and we shall continue to give it our full support,” the company said.
Interbrau specializes in international malting barley trading and logistics, and operates in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Canada.
Vivescia, whose Canadian assets include its Malteurop malting plant in Winnipeg, was not immediately available for comment.
— Reporting for Reuters by Valerie Parent, writing by Sybille de La Hamaide. Includes files from AGCanada.com Network staff.
