One of Canada’s biggest mushroom producers is set to merge into one of the biggest North American players in the same sector. Pennsylvania-based South Mill Mushrooms, which grows for distribution across the U.S. and into Eastern Canada, announced Tuesday it will combine its operations with those of Champ’s Mushrooms, based at Aldergrove in the Vancouver […] Read more
Major B.C. mushroom grower merging into U.S. firm
Richardson buys Winnipeg-area input retailer
An independent crop input retailer is being merged into one of its neighbours near Winnipeg as grain firm Richardson International continues on a retail expansion track. Privately-held Richardson announced Dec. 11 it has closed a deal to buy the retail assets of Bestland Air Ltd. at Starbuck, Man., about 30 km southwest of Winnipeg. Bestland […] Read more
CHS to shed Prairie crop input retail sites
U.S. farm co-operative CHS is stepping back from Canada’s Prairie crop input retail sector with a deal to sell its 10 retail locations to Richardson International. Winnipeg-based Richardson on Tuesday announced it would buy CHS’s Alberta retail sites at Alix, Beiseker, Bow Island, Carseland, Craddock, Lacombe, Rolling Hills, Standard and Vauxhall, and the co-op’s lone […] Read more
Metro to buy Jean Coutu to stave off looming risks
Toronto | Reuters — Metro Inc., Canada’s third-biggest food retailer, on Monday agreed to buy pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group for $4.5 billion in cash and stock, paying what analysts said was a “steep” premium to protect against risks facing the retail sector. The deal comes at time when global retail giants like Amazon.com, Wal-Mart […] Read more
Metro in ‘advanced’ talks to buy Jean Coutu chain
One of Eastern Canada’s major players in the grocery sector is in “advanced discussions” to take up one of the region’s major drugstore chains. Montreal-based Metro Inc. announced Tuesday it’s in “exclusive” talks with the Jean Coutu Group on the possibilities of a cash-and-stock takeover valued in some reports at around $4.5 billion. A non-binding […] Read more
U.S. grain handler Andersons to exit retail business
Reuters — Loss-making U.S. grain handler Andersons Inc. said Sunday it plans to exit the retail business, affecting over 1,000 employees, at a time when the U.S. farm sector is facing a downturn due to a sharp decline in grain prices. The company, which buys grain, produces ethanol and leases rail cars, said it will […] Read more
Loblaw reports better-than-expected profit
Reuters — Canadian grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as expenses fell and discounting attracted more shoppers. Profit at Loblaw’s main retail unit was helped by lower selling, general and administrative costs, and an increase in same-store sales in the quarter ending Oct. 8, the company said. […] Read more
P+H bulking up on fertilizer in southeastern Saskatchewan
Winnipeg grain company Parrish and Heimbecker has started construction work to further boost its crop input retail profile in southeastern Saskatchewan. The company, in an online newsletter released this week, said it has fast-tracked work on a new 1,800-tonne capacity liquid fertilizer blend plant at Moosomin, Sask., to accompany a 16,000-tonne capacity dry fertilizer storage […] Read more
Fertilizer merger highlights big-picture concerns
CNS Canada — A multi-billion-dollar merger between two major crop input companies is the latest in a string of consolidation efforts in North America’s agriculture industry, drawing attention again to the possible effects on the value chain. Agrium and PotashCorp announced Monday they plan to combine to create an integrated global supplier of crop inputs, […] Read more
Agrium sees opportunities from major merger talk
Reuters — Agrium, North America’s largest retail seller of products for crop producers, could benefit if some of the biggest makers of seed and agricultural chemicals merge, CEO Chuck Magro said on Wednesday. Responding to a question during a company investor day in Toronto about how possible tie-ups of ChemChina and Syngenta, or of Bayer […] Read more
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