Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Louis Dreyfus acquires African fertiliser company

Geneva - Commodities trading firm Louis Dreyfus has acquired fertiliser company SCPA-Sivex International to help increase its presence in Africa, it said on Monday.

“The acquisition is a major step in the group's development in the Middle East and Africa,” LD Commodities said in a statement released in Geneva, a hub for raw materials trading.

SCPA-Sivex International, or SSI, was a unit of the French company Entreprise Miniere et Chimique. It is a leading distributor of crop protection and chemical products in West Africa, according to the Louis Dreyfus statement.

“The combined entity, LDC-SSI, will be one of the key agri-business players in Africa with solid potential for future growth and diversification,” it said, without disclosing a price for the purchase.

Louis Dreyfus is one of the world's largest commodities houses, trading in grains, oilseeds, cotton, sugar, rice and citrus fruit. - Reuters