Californian dairy cattle feed supplier Western Milling snapped up by Viserion International

14-Jun-2022 - Last updated on 14-Jun-2022 at 08:11 GMT

Viserion Milling, a newly formed subsidiary of Viserion International, is to acquire Western Milling, a diversified California-based agribusiness, from Kruse Western, Inc.

Viserion International and its subsidiaries are backed by Pinnacle Asset Management, a New York-based alternative asset management firm focused on global commodities markets.

With a legacy dating back to 1935, Western Milling is one of the oldest and largest industrial providers of mixed grain cattle feed products to the dairy industry in California—which accounts for approximately 20% of all US dairy output—and operates large-scale fertilizer transportation and grain merchandising businesses with a fleet of natural gas-powered trucks.

Beyond mixed cattle feed, Western Milling also produces complete feeds, blended vitamin-rich feeds, pelleted feeds for both poultry and branded pet foods, rolled grains, supplements, and other grain commodities including millrun, molasses, rice bran, and whey.

Operational gains

The facilities being acquired by Viserion include sites in Visalia, Hanford and Famoso, California; Hereford, Texas; and Buckeye, Arizona.

Aaron Wiegand, CEO of Viserion International, said: "Western Milling has been a well-respected cornerstone of California's agriculture industry for nearly a century. We are thrilled to acquire this outstanding, multifaceted company whose feed mill and fertilizer operations will complement Viserion International's existing grain-handling and commodity trading offerings."

Jason Kellman, managing partner and chief investment officer of Pinnacle, commented: "Viserion International's domestic growth plans will be significantly amplified by Viserion Milling's comprehensive portfolio of agribusiness units and established presence in the California dairy market. Following Viserion International's recent portfolio acquisition of ten grain elevator facilities from Zen-Noh Grain Corporation, we are pleased that the company continues to grow into one of the leading agricultural merchants in the US."

Over the past six years, Pinnacle-managed entities have made several strategic investments to bolster the firm's physical commodities trading and merchanting businesses. The investments include acquiring Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, the world's largest cattle feeding operation from JBS USA in 2018.