HAMILTON — A pair of Indiana cooperatives have formed a strategic joint venture to acquire an Allegan County agricultural retail business owned by CHS Inc.
Crawfordsville, Ind.-based Ceres Solutions and Avon, Ind.-based Co-Alliance LLP expect the deal to close later this year, according to a statement. The co-op’s joint venture is conducting due diligence on the business, located at 4671 E. Washington St. in Hamilton, southeast of Holland.
COURTESY PHOTO: CO-ALLIANCE LLP
The negotiations also include a wholesale supply agreement.
Executives in the joint venture say the deal further demonstrates the importance of the co-op model in serving farmers.
“This strategic joint venture with Ceres Solutions combined with the purchase of extensive retail assets will add capabilities and scale to extend reach and drive growth for both cooperatives and our respective owners,” Co-Alliance CEO Kevin Still said in a statement.
For farmer- and coop-owned CHS (Nasdaq: CHSCP), headquartered in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., the sale is consistent with its mission of “creating connections to empower agriculture,” according to Executive Vice President Rich Dusek.
“[T]he proposed transaction would expand the operations of these two leading cooperatives, ensure farmers have continued access to cooperative products and services, and allow CHS to reinvest in retail operations more closely aligned with its core business supply chain,” Dusek stated.
CHS Hamilton supplies a range of agronomy, energy and feed and commodities, including crop nutrients, seed, crop protection products, precision ag technology, propane and refined fuels.
An entirely farmer-owned cooperative, Ceres serves 37 counties in Indiana and Michigan, where it operates from locations in Eau Claire, Coldwater, Fremont, White Cloud, Hart, McBain, and Falmouth.
Member-owned Co-Alliance LLP has supply and marketing service locations in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, including Schoolcraft, Constantine and Buchanan.
Terms of the proposed deal were not disclosed.
