Vilnius, Lithuania, 2017-02-27 07:24 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 24 February 2017 Cedus Invest UAB, a company 100 per cent controlled by Invalda INVL, together with other shareholders of Litagra UAB, initialled share purchase – sale agreement with Achema Group regarding sale of Litagra group trading business and grain elevators network, i.e. Litagros Prekyba AB, with its Latvian subsidiary Litagra SIA. Completion of the transaction is planned after obtaining the approval of the Competition Council and carrying out other actions foreseen in the agreement, including the reorganization of Litagra.
Additional information:
Litagra, one of the Baltic region’s leading agribusiness groups, intends to transfer its trading business and grain elevator network in Lithuania and Latvia to Achema Group. The Litagra group, having decided to focus on production activities, will continue to run its primary farming production business – companies in Lithuania that cultivate more than 9,000 hectares of land and the feed manufacturer Joniškio Grūdai.
Litagra, the first company after state-owned Lietuvos Agrochemija to begin trading western agrochemicals 25 years ago, is taking a strategic step, Chairman of the Board and Founder Gintaras Kateiva said.
“We’ve decided to relinquish the trading business with annual turnover of 138 million euros and some 250 employees to a strategic partner who can build the most synergy in the Baltic market. The new arrangement will definitely change the business map and create value not just for farmers, but also for suppliers and employees,” Mr Kateiva said.
“In line with the long-term strategy of the concern, we’re expanding operations in one of our core areas – agricultural services business. Integration, after the transaction, of Litagra’s trading operations into the group of companies that the concern owns will strengthen the group company Agrochema which has analogous activities, broaden its product range, and complete the supply chain from the grain elevators to the Klaipeda port,” said Audrius Bendaravičius, the CEO of Achema Group and Chairman of the Board of Agrochema.
Achema Group intends to acquire Litagra group trading business and grain elevators network, i.e. Litagros Prekyba AB, with its Latvian subsidiary Litagra SIA. The previous owners will retain the name “Litagra”, though the acquired companies will be able to use it until 2019.
An agreement to that effect between Achema Group and Litagra shareholders Gintaras Kateiva, Invalda INVL group, the investment fund Amber Trust II and others was initialled on 24 February. Completion of the transaction is planned after obtaining the approval of the Competition Council and carrying out other actions foreseen in the agreement, including the reorganization of Litagra.
The final amount of the transaction depends on Litagra’s financial indicators on the accounting date of the transaction and so will only be clear after the transaction is completed.
Litagra’s major shareholders –Gintaras Kateiva, the Invalda INVL group, and the investment fund Amber Trust II– intend to continue strengthening the feed and primary farming production businesses.
Invalda INVL, one of the leading asset management companies, invested in Litagra in 2011, acquiring a 36.9 per cent equity stake.
“We think the funds we invested and our intellectual contribution have strengthened the company and had a positive impact on the growth of Litagra’s value. We’ve participated actively in preparing for the reorganization of the Litagra group and the mutually beneficial transaction with Achema Group. Litagra will continue to focus on production business where it can benefit from competitive advantages as a participant in the global food supply chain,” said Darius Šulnis, the President of Invalda INVL and a Member of the Board of Litagra.
According to Litagra CEO Aidas Mackevičius, the company is currently actively considering expansion opportunities in the primary farming production and feed businesses, including acquisitions.
“We’ve begun the construction of a 5-million-euro value cattle complex in Kalpokai. The decision on the investment was taken when dairy prices were at a low. We are convinced that modern dairy production at the right scale in Lithuania has good prospects and is globally competitive,” Mr Mackevičius said.
The person authorized to provide additional information is: Darius Sulnis, President of Invalda INVL E-mail: Darius.Sulnis@invl.com
