De Heus further consolidates its position in Spain
Founded in 1992, the Spanish manufacturer is based in the north of the country. It has an annual capacity of 80,000 tons and specializes in the development and production of a complete range of dairy, beef cattle and other ruminant species.
In another M&A deal, in March this year, De Heus acquired Brazilian cattle nutrition company, Cerrado Nutrição Animal, located in Itaberaí, in the state of Goiás.
De Heus now has an extensive network of feed production facilities in Spain in its ambition to become a dominant feed player on the Iberian Peninsula.
“After closing this deal, we now have a capacity in Spain of almost one million tons,” Joost Belt, De Heus spokesperson, told us.
The Spanish regions of Navarra, La Rioja, the Basque Country and Aragon are areas of great relevance in terms of livestock production and De Heus wants to help those regions grow, through the integration of innovative technologies while also ensuring improved animal welfare, said Jean-François Honoré, general manager of De Heus Iberia.
Consolidation strategy
He said this latest acquisition reconfirms De Heus’ consolidation strategy in the non-integrated feed market in Spain.
In November last year, the Dutch company bought Spanish compound feed plant, Evialis Galicia, from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM).
That company, also located in northern Spain, was founded in 1974 has production volume of more than 50,000 tons of compound feed annually, targeting multiple animal categories, but with a focus on feed for dairy cattle and rabbits.
Evialis Galicia focuses mainly on the open feed market, sell its products to farmers directly as well as through a dealer network, said De Heus.
De Heus first entered the Spanish market in November 2015, when it acquired leading Iberian feed producer, Nuter, from a private equity group. That deal included the 12 plants operated by Nuter across Spain and Portugal with the production sites strategically located near the biggest livestock farming areas.
In March 2017, De Heus bought Spanish compound feed manufacturer, Acorex, which expanded its footprint in the region of Extremadura, where cattle farming is strong, while, in early 2018, it bought, Piensos Unzué, based in Navarra.
The Dutch group also has facilities in Aranda de Duero (Burgos), Benavente (Zamora), Colloto (Asturias), Porriño (Pontevedra), Llerena (Badajoz), Lugo, San Pedro de Nós (A Coruña), Silla (Valencia), Talavera de la Reina (Toledo) and Ubeda (Jaén).
