The deal is expected to close early next year
Another act of consolidation is hitting Western Canadian agriculture.
GrainCorp and Zen-Noh Grain Corporation, the joint shareholders of GrainsConnect Canada (GCC), announced it reached an agreement to sell 100 per cent of the company to Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H).
P&H will pay about $150 million for GCC, some financial news sources indicate.
GrainsConnect Canada has four elevators in the Prairies – two each in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Each has a 134-car rail loop to support efficient grain transportation.
The transaction also includes GCC’s 50 per cent stake in the Fraser Grain Terminal.
The deal, expected to close early next year, will help GrainsConnect and farmers, the companies say.
“As GrainsConnect evolves, we recognised that a transition to P&H, a trusted partner with a shared commitment to the Prairies, is the best path forward for these assets and the communities they support,” GCC Chairman Charlie Colbert said in a Dec. 17 statement.
“We have great respect for the quality of GCC’s facilities and the people who run them, and we look forward to building on that foundation,” John Heimbecker, CEO of P&H, said in the statement.
Some farmers online are sharing their reactions to the industry news.
On Agriville.com, one user said they are “a little disappointed at this one. I sell a decent portion of my grain to GrainsConnect but historically not much to P&H, usually lower prices offered. There will be one less competitor now.”
Another user speculated this deal has been in the works for a while because “the higher prices grains connect had prior years just wasn’t there this year.”