MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Cargill has now completed the acquisition of ADM’s global chocolate business for an enterprise value of $440m. The acquisition underlines Cargill’s commitment to meeting customer needs and constitutes a milestone for its chocolate growth strategy, strengthening its position as a leading player in the cocoa and chocolate industry.

The combined business provides Cargill with enhanced capabilities and product ranges to deliver a broad portfolio of products that support the long-term needs of existing and new customers. Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business now operates globally with 27 sites in 11 countries with over 3,000 employees and serves customer needs worldwide with a distinctive range of innovative and high quality cocoa and chocolate products, tailor-made for confectionery, bakery, dairy, and other applications.

Addressing the European Commission’s conditional clearance, Cargill has agreed to divest ADM’s industrial chocolate production facility in Mannheim, Germany. The facility is kept as a separate entity with its own interim management until transferred to a prospective buyer. Chocolate production onsite and service to customers continues normally.

“Along with our access to the global cocoa supply chain and an enhanced technology base, we will be able to improve the delivery of new applications to our customers. We are seriously committed to help our customers grow and are excited to begin our new journey,” says Jos de Loor, president of Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business EMEA and Asia.

“Bringing together the talents and expertise of our two organizations will enable us to have a broader market reach and an even better product and service capability,” comments Bryan Wurscher, president Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate North America. “By understanding and responding to customers’ needs we will be able to offer them distinctive value, which in turn will help create growth opportunities for our customers and for our business, as we increase the scale and focus of our operations.”

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/

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SOURCE Cargill