Agricultural commodities trader Cargill Inc is in talks to sell two crushing plants in Western Europe, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The assets included a soyabean crushing plant of around 600,000 tonnes capacity per annum in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, as well as a soyabean and rapeseed crushing plant of around 300,000 tonnes capacity in Brest, France.
“At any one time, Cargill is assessing a number of initiatives to progress its business strategy. It is our policy that we will communicate as and when there is something definitive,” a Cargill spokeswoman said.
Two sources said rival trade house Bunge was interested in buying the assets.
Bunge did not respond to requests for comment via phone and email.
Cargill and Bunge are amongst the world’s top oilseed crushers.
Bunge recently boosted its oilseed crushing capacity via its acquisition of a majority stake in German company Walter Rau.
Privately held Cargill launched a restructuring last year, as global agricultural companies came under pressure from slumping commodity prices, slowing demand in China and weakness in emerging markets.
By Sarah McFarlane
Source: Reuters
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