ST. PAUL, MINN. — CHS Inc. has sold its shares in Multigrain S.A., a Brazilian joint venture company with PMG Trading and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., to Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Japan. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“As CHS continues to develop and expand its global capabilities and footprint in agriculture and energy commodities, we are now considering a number of our own business projects and investments in South America,” said Mark Palmquist, executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Ag Business. “We will continue to add shareholder value as we grow our grain origination, logistics, transportation and export capabilities in Brazil.”
Based in Sao Paulo, Multigrain manages a agricultural commodities for customers worldwide integrating agricultural production, processing, logistics and merchandising. Multigrain merchandising activities are specifically focused on soybean, corn, wheat, cotton, sugar, ethanol and fertilizers. The company owns over 250,000 acres of farmland in three key Brazilian agricultural states; Maranhão, Minas Gerais and Bahia. On the farms the company grows soybeans, cotton and corn predominantly for export.
Multigrain operates a flour mill in Jundiai in the Sao Paolo state, and markets wheat flour and bread pre-mix to bakers and pasta makers.
In addition to an extensive merchandising operation, the company said it runs “a network of warehouses, transshipments, mills and port facilities, comparable with its largest multinational competitors.”
The company’s South American businesses include CHS do Brasil Ltda., with headquarters in Sao Paulo, and CHS de Argentina with headquarters in Buenos Aires, which procure grains and oilseeds for global customers and export from multiple southern Brazil ports.