ST. LOUIS — Bunge Ltd., the Chesterfield-based agricultural commodities trader, said Tuesday it would sell its rice mill located in Woodland, California, to the Farmers' Rice Cooperative. Also based in California, the grower-owned marketing cooperative sells a range of rice products in the U.S. and internationally.
Farmers' Rice Cooperative (FRC) agreed to buy the assets of Bunge's Pacific International Rice Mill, also known as PIRMI, which is a leading producer of medium-grain rice for domestic and international foodservice distributors, grocers and wholesale suppliers. PIRMI’s primary assets are the rice milling, drying and storage facilities in Woodland and its market-leading product brands, FRC officials said. The facility's more than 60 management and operations employees are expected to join FRC.
The sale is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of 2020, officials said. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
"As part of our portfolio review, we determined that this mill has limited connections to Bunge's broader value chains," Greg Hackman, Bunge's CEO, said in a statement. "We will work closely with the new owners to make the transition as smooth as possible for employees and customers."
Sacramento-based Farmers' Rice Cooperative is among Bunge's major competitors in its U.S. rice milling business, according to Bunge's annual report. Bunge's milling products segment, which includes wheat, corn and rice milling businesses, reported net sales of nearly $1.74 billion in 2019, up 3% from the prior year, driven primarily by higher sale prices for wheat products in Brazil, the acquisition of two corn mills in the U.S. in 2018, and higher sale prices in its U.S. rice milling business.
Bunge last week said its Bunge Loders Croklaan JV has agreed to sell a refinery in the Netherlands for 258 million euros, or about $300 million, in cash to Neste Corp. Bunge Loders Croklaan is Bunge's business-to-business edible oils company, producing and supplying plant-based specialty oils and fats for the food manufacturing industry. The company said it will lease back the facility from Neste through 2024 in what it termed a "phased transition" so it can continue to supply its customers with its products. That deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.
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