Food and agriculture company Cargill is to purchase 24.5% of the shares in Chilean salmon farming company Salmones Multiexport SA (Multi X), subsidiary of Multiexport Foods SA, for around US$290 million. In turn, Mitsui, a shareholder of Multi X since 2015, will increase its shareholding by 1.13%, to 24.5%.
Multiexport Foods maintains control of Multi X with 51% of the total shares. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and the fulfilment of conditions agreed by the parties.
“Adding Cargill as a new partner of Multi X will be a strategic and decisive step in the next stage of development of the company and its purpose to win over the world’s consumers with high-quality, value-added, sustainable products sold under our brands ‘Multi X’, ‘Arka’ and ‘Latitude 45’,” said José Ramón Gutiérrez, Chairman of Multiexport Foods.
“We welcome Cargill, with their 156-year track record of growth and success, as well as a purpose and values that align with ours,” Gutiérrez said. “Together with Cargill and Mitsui, and our talented and passionate collaborators, we will combine capabilities and strengths for a sustainable development of Multi X and deepen our commitment to the southern regions of Chile.”
Tim Noonan, managing director for Cargill’s seafood business, said his employer is seeking to be a “differentiated leader” in the seafood industry, and would combine innovation with operational excellence to enable greater affordability and integrity of supply chains for customers and consumers.
“This partnership is an important next step in the development of our seafood strategy and will leverage our capabilities across the value chain, including consumer insights, culinary innovation, value-added processing know-how, risk management, and fish nutrition and health solutions. As a result, we hope to provide more customers and consumers with access to Multi X’s high-quality portfolio of private label and branded salmon products.”
Meanwhile, Mitsui is confident that the partnership represents “a powerful union of three companies that believe in making affordable seafood more available to consumers worldwide”, while protecting oceans and communities, said Shuichi Matsuzawa, senior vice president of Foods & Retail Division of Mitsui USA.
“Bringing together the unique capabilities of Multiexport Foods, Cargill and Mitsui will create value for all of Multi X’s stakeholders,” Matsuzawa said.
