InVivo to acquire 100% of shares in Soufflet Group
InVivo Group, a leading national French agricultural cooperative group operating in several key countries, and Soufflet Group, a French family group in food and agriculture of international scale, announced the entry into exclusive negotiations regarding the acquisition of 100% of Soufflet Group’s capital by InVivo Group.
"The combination of InVivo Group and Soufflet Group would lead to the creation of a French champion in agriculture and agribusiness with an international footprint, driven by the complementarity of their respective activities and the pooling of their resources. The new Group would be able to address the challenges and issues of societal, environmental and technological nature facing the agricultural and agribusiness sectors as well as the issue of food sovereignty while creating value for both farmers and all stakeholders of the French agri-business sector," the company says in a statement.
It is noted that with combined revenues of nearly EUR 10 bln, about half of which would be generated outside France, and more than 12,500 employees worldwide, this new Group would have a strong positioning both in France and internationally, operating more than 90 industrial sites, including 59 sites in France.
Philippe Mangin, Chairman of InVivo Group, comments: "Access to food has become a strategic issue reinforcing the need to preserve the food sovereignty of both France — the ‘Made in France’ label — and Europe. Bringing our two Groups together would enable us to address this challenge by providing a 100% French answer and would represent a key driving force for the agricultural transition and the interests of ‘la Ferme France’."
Michel Soufflet, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Soufflet Group, stresses that Soufflet Group’s heritage and family values remain the key assets of their identity and play a fundamental role in the relationship of trust that the company has developed with farmers, its partners for more than 120 years.
"With this project, we would be able to continue serving and supporting our farmer customers to strive, as they have always done with us in the past,” he adds.
The employee representative bodies of both Groups have been informed of this project today and an information-consultation procedure would soon be launched. The combination of the two Groups would be subject to the prior authorization of the competent anti-trust authorities. The transaction could be finalized by the end of 2021.