Paris | Reuters — Agricultural commodity merchant Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has created a food and feed solutions business line as part of efforts to diversify its activities in step with consumer trends, the company said on Tuesday. The new unit will focus on developing LDC’s presence in the lecithin, glycerine and specialty feed protein […] Read more

Commodity merchant Louis Dreyfus creates food solutions unit
Company to draw on existing oilseeds processing portfolio

Competition Bureau’s call for Manitoba elevator sale rejected
Bureau 'carefully reviewing' Competition Tribunal decision
A federal antitrust tribunal’s decision may soon make Canadian grain firm Parrish and Heimbecker the uncontested owner of the full set of Louis Dreyfus’ Prairie grain elevators. In a decision dated Oct. 31, the Competition Tribunal — the federal quasi-judicial body with the power of approval over any antitrust actions proposed by the federal Competition […] Read more

Louis Dreyfus suspends operations in Russia
Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus Co., (LDC), one of the world’s largest agricultural commodity merchants, has suspended its operations in Russia, it said on Friday. LDC did not provide further details in an emailed response to a question about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on its activities. Like other crop traders, it […] Read more

Dreyfus chair owes US$240 million after ADQ deal
Stake sale's proceeds going to repay loan
Paris | Reuters — Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, chairperson and main shareholder of Louis Dreyfus Co., borrowed about $240 million from Credit Suisse in a reduced loan arrangement following the sale of a stake in LDC, an annual company report showed. Louis-Dreyfus told Swiss business magazine Bilanz in late 2020 she planned to use the proceeds of […] Read more

Dreyfus, others shut soy crushers in China on power curbs
'Cash is on fire'
Beijing | Reuters — Soymeal prices in China, the world’s top consumer of the animal feed ingredient, are rising after at least 20 soybean crushing plants shuttered to comply with curbs on industrial power consumption, industry participants said on Friday. Five crushing plants in the northern city of Tianjin closed this week, said Tianfeng Futures […] Read more

Louis Dreyfus completes stake sale to ADQ
Deal includes long-term supply line to UAE
Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) said on Friday it had completed the sale of a 45 per cent indirect stake to Abu Dhabi holding firm ADQ, marking the arrival of the first non-family shareholder in the agricultural commodity group’s 170-year history. The overall value of the deal was not disclosed but LDC […] Read more

Louis Dreyfus to gain first outside investor
Abu Dhabi's ADQ fund to acquire indirect 45 per cent stake
Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has agreed to sell a 45 per cent stake to Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, the companies said on Wednesday, the first outside investment in the family-owned commodity merchant’s 169-year-old history. The deal comes after a search by chairwoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus for an investor to relieve debt built up […] Read more

Dreyfus reportedly in talks to sell stake to Abu Dhabi’s ADQ
Reuters — Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Corp. is in talks to sell a stake to Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. For the privately held company, which has been facing a challenging business environment, bringing external investors would be a first in its 169-year […] Read more

Louis Dreyfus adds venture capital unit
New unit's potential budget not yet discussed publicly
Paris | Reuters — Agricultural commodities trader Louis Dreyfus Co. has launched a venture capital program to invest in food and farming firms while also announcing a change of head for its innovation business. “Over the coming months, we will invest in early-stage companies with the potential to transform the food and agriculture industries,” CEO […] Read more

P+H to challenge regulators’ request for elevator sale
Case to be heard sometime at later end of fall
Grain firm Parrish and Heimbecker aims to keep its now-expanded Prairie elevator network intact against a proposed order from federal antitrust regulators. Winnipeg-based, privately-held P+H in September announced a deal to buy all 10 of the primary Prairie grain elevators built by agrifood giant Louis Dreyfus Co. between 1998 and 2003. The two companies have […] Read more