Richardson to Acquire Single Largest North American Durum Miller, Italgrani USA

Italgrani USA durum mill, St. Louis, Missouri. (CNW Group/Richardson International Ltd.)

WINNIPEG — Richardson International Limited announces that its subsidiary, Richardson Oilseed (US) Holdings Limited, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Italgrani USA Inc., the single largest durum miller in North America.

Richardson has an established precedent of strategic expansion and investment and this latest announcement is an extension of a long-term vision to try and diversify processing operations. Assets to be acquired by Richardson include a milling facility in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in semolina and durum flour products, storage and crop inputs facilities situated at Tolley, Powers Lake, and Benedict in North Dakota, and a commodity trading office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“This acquisition is fully aligned with our long-term strategic goals of diversification, geographic expansion, and an increased presence in food processing – having gone from canola to oats and now to durum processing,” said Curt Vossen (President and CEO, Richardson International). “The significant scale of processing capability of the Italgrani plant, combined with origination opportunities and crop inputs retail facilities, all included in this transaction, will further enhance the services we will be able to offer to our producer customers, both in Canada and the U.S.”

The purchase agreement will close immediately following receipt of all requisite regulatory approvals. Richardson will own 100 per cent of the shares of Italgrani USA. Following successful completion, Richardson will retain the current workforce and looks forward to welcoming the employees to the Richardson group of companies.

“We would like to congratulate Richardson on this successful transaction. We are confident that Richardson will understand and nurture the unique culture and business qualities that made Italgrani so successful over the years and will contribute to the further growth of the business,” said Ruggero Benedini (CEO, Progetto Grano – majority shareholder of Italgrani USA).