ZGC is divesting the US facilities in conjunction with its proposed acquisition of multiple grain elevators from Bunge, which was announced in April 2020.
ZGC trades and exports corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, and byproducts from its state-of-the-art export elevator located on the Mississippi River, near Convent, Louisiana, to Japan and other global markets. It also has grain origination interests in Canada and Brazil.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is contingent upon the closing of the ZGC's previously announced acquisition of Bunge's facilities, set for late spring 2021.
Located across five states along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, Viserion said the grain elevators it is buying have a total storage capacity of about 25MBu and are well-positioned to provide competitive services for farmers and grain dealers.
The facilities are located in Huffman, Helena, and Osceola, Arkansas, McGregor, Iowa; Savanna and Shawneetown, Illinois; Lake Providence and Lettsworth, Louisiana; Caruthersville and Cottonwood Point, Missouri.
"These facilities, located across major inland US waterways, are integral to expanding our agricultural trading platform and grain handling capabilities," said Aaron Wiegand, CEO, Viserion International. "We believe that the addition of these assets will accelerate our growth and provide a strong foundation to market grain and oilseeds directly to domestic customers and exporters."
Jason Kellman, managing partner and chief investment officer, Pinnacle, said the facilities fit squarely into the asset management firm’s growing physical commodities portfolio and expands its ability to participate in the grain and oilseeds supply chain directly.
Over the past five years, Pinnacle-managed entities have made several strategic investments to bolster its physical commodities trading and merchanting business; in 2018, it acquired Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, the largest cattle feeding operation in the world, from JBS US for around US$200m. That feeding operation encompasses 11 feed yards across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and a feeding capacity of more than 900,000 head of cattle. In conjunction with the transaction, Five Rivers entered into a long-term agreement to supply cattle to JBS USA beef processing plants.
