Cargill welcomes clearance from European Commission for purchase of ADM's chocolate business

AMSTERDAM, July 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --  The European Commission has granted conditional clearance for Cargill to acquire Archer Daniels Midland's (NYSE: ADM) chocolate business in Europe. Together with the approvals granted earlier by the US Department of Justice, this completes the regulatory approval process for the global deal.

"The acquisition underlines Cargill's commitment to meeting our customers' needs and constitutes a milestone for our chocolate growth strategy, strengthening our position as a leading player in the cocoa and chocolate industry," says Bryan Wurscher, president Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate North America. "The new organisation will deepen our service to chocolate customers and expand our footprint and production capability significantly. Customers will benefit from a combined business with a broad range of high quality cocoa and chocolate products for confectionery, bakery, dairy, and other applications."

"We are looking forward to bringing together people with a deep passion, experience and commitment to producing excellent chocolate in our extended chocolate operations," says Jos de Loor, president of Cargill's cocoa and chocolate business EMEA and Asia. "Growing our business goes hand in hand with our commitment to securing the long-term viability of a strong and sustainable cocoa bean supply chain. With the Cargill Cocoa Promise, we are supporting progress towards a transparent cocoa supply chain, enabling farmers to achieve better livelihoods and delivering a sustainable supply of cocoa and chocolate products to meet the growing demands from customers."

After closing of the transaction, three chocolate, compound and liquor production sites in North America - Milwaukee (Wis.), Hazleton (Penn.) and Georgetown (Ontario) and three chocolate and compound production sites in Europe - Liverpool (U.K.), Manage (Belgium) and Mannheim (Germany) and more than 650 employees will transfer to Cargill. And the Ambrosia®, Merckens® and Schokinag® brands will join Cargill's existing portfolio of high quality chocolate brands.

Addressing the European Commission's competition concerns, Cargill has agreed to divest ADM's industrial chocolate production facility in Mannheim, Germany. The facility will be kept as a separate entity with its own interim management until an agreement with a prospective buyer has been made.

About Cargill

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 152,000 employees in 67 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work.

About Cargill's global cocoa and chocolate business

Cargill's cocoa and chocolate business offers the food industry a wide range of both standard and customised cocoa and chocolate ingredients for use in delicious bakery, confectionery and dairy applications all over the world. The company's product range includes high quality Gerkens® cocoa powders, chocolate, coatings, fillings, cocoa liquors and cocoa butters. With years of experience in technical food expertise Cargill supports its customers in new recipes and new product development.

Cargill's processing plants in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, the Netherlands, UK and the USA are in full compliance with the highest food safety standards. 

To secure a good quality and sustainable supply of cocoa beans, Cargill has its own cocoa bean sourcing operations for buying, handling and exporting of cocoa beans in Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Indonesia. Presence in all the leading producing countries allows Cargill to oversee the supply chain from beans at origin to cocoa and chocolate products on its customers' doorsteps. In addition, extensive market research and analysis proves to be a source of valuable information to customers.

More information is available at www.cargillcocoachocolate.com/

SOURCE Cargill

Related Links

http://www.cargill.com