Paris | Reuters — Canada’s biggest grain merchant Richardson International is entering the malt sector through the acquisition of U.K.-based Anglia Maltings Holdings (AMH), targeting rising demand for the beer and whisky ingredient, Richardson said on Friday without disclosing financial terms.
Anglia Maltings operates seven malt facilities in the U.K., Poland, and Germany, with combined production capacity of 440,000 metric tonnes.
Privately-owned Richardson, which has operated since 1857, has been interested for 20 years in entering the malting business, but never found the right opportunity until now, CEO Curt Vossen said.
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The deal fits Richardson’s strategy of processing the crops it buys from farmers, ranging from canola crushing and canola oil bottling to milling durum and oats, Vossen said.
“Now that we’re a food processor as well as an agricultural company, malting serves a fundamental purpose, it’s a natural fit,” he said in an interview.
Vossen said Richardson will buy European barley for its malting facilities.
He said Richardson will take time to understand the specifics of malting before deciding whether to expand the business.
The deal follows an announcement last week by French agribusiness InVivo of an agreement to acquire Australia-based United Malt in a $1 billion deal to create the world’s largest malt producer.
That deal, to be handled through InVivo’s Malteries Soufflet arm, was first proposed in March but now has approval from United Malt’s board of directors. Approvals from United Malt shareholders and regulators are still pending.
Among United Malt’s other assets in the U.S., Australia and the U.K., that deal would give Soufflet control of Calgary-based Canada Malting, which alone produces about 400,000 tonnes of malt per year.
Winnipeg-based Richardson, which employs over 3,000 people worldwide, handles and processes grain and oilseed crops. In 2021, it acquired Italgrani USA, North America’s largest durum wheat miller.
— Reporting for Reuters by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg.
