Cargill Swiss unit sold to German-listed PE firm

Aurelius snaps up the major’s Helvetic feed business at a time when Cargill expands in Latin America.

 

Aurelius Equity Opportunities has bought Cargill’s animal nutrition business in Switzerland, suggesting efforts by the agri major to divest non-core assets amid an acquisition spree.

The unit, which has three production sites across the country, produces both premix and complete feed for major species including poultry, swine and cattle. It also manufactures specialty products for pets, horses and zoo animals as well as medicated feed.

AEO is the German-listed entity of Aurelius Group, an asset manager with Munich, London, Stockholm and Madrid. It has a market capitalization of €1.6 billion and runs 22 portfolio companies.

The size of its latest transaction was not disclosed, and Cargill had not responded for comment at the time of publication. Aurelius declined to comment on price but said the business generated €130 million in revenues in fiscal year 2017. The subsidiary employs about 250 people.

“We have been able to again successfully establish Aurelius as the preferred partner in a complex carve-out of a non-core business,” said Dirk Markus, chairman of AEO, who added the firm anticipates sealing another deal by year-end.

The news comes  a week after Cargill acquired Integral Animal Nutrition, a Brazilian cattle feed producer, and 10 days after it bought Diamond V, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based producer of nutritional products for food and companion animals.