MAUMEE, OHIO — The Andersons, Inc. and Lansing Trade Group, L.L.C. have entered into an agreement to acquire Thompsons Ltd., a grain and food-grade bean handler and agronomy input provider, headquartered in Blenheim, Ont. Thompsons operates 12 locations across the province and in Minnesota.

The acquisition, which remains subject to certain customary closing conditions, is expected to close at the beginning of the third quarter.

The business, which Lansing Trade Group and The Andersons will own equally, will continue to operate as Thompsons Ltd. Lansing Trade Group’s current trading office in Chatham, Ont., will be consolidated into Thompsons, the companies said.

“For The Andersons, this acquisition establishes a foothold in Ontario with a similarly diversified agricultural company adjacent to our eastern corn-belt roots,” said Mike Anderson, chief executive officer for The Andersons. “It also enables us to leverage our strengths with those of our partner Lansing Trade Group. Thompsons is a highly respected, integrated grain, food-grade bean and agronomy business with a similar strategy of cultivating and maintaining strong relationships with growers and end users globally.”

Bill Krueger, president and c.e.o. of Lansing Trade Group, added, “The opportunity for Lansing to grow our existing Canadian presence with such a cornerstone company fits our long-term strategy. Our partnership with The Andersons will facilitate the entity’s immediate growth in the crop nutrients sector. Thompsons Ltd. will benefit from the combined strength of Lansing and The Andersons in its other areas of business including grains, food-grade products and farm services.”

Established in 1924, Thompsons is an integrated supplier of value-added agricultural products and services to growers in Ontario, Minnesota and North Dakota and to food processing customers worldwide.

Thompsons owns and operates 12 elevators, 11 retail farm centers, 2 seed processing plants, 5 bean processing plants and a wheat processing plant. Thompsons has a combined owned and leased grain storage capacity of 20 million bus and 30,000 tonnes of nutrient capacity.