Media in Buenos Aires say that SanCor has been bought by another Argentinian agricultural firm, Adecoagro.
A report in Argentina’s La Nacion said Fonterra had been outbid by Adecoagro. Fonterra initially offered US$330 million ($450m), but Adecoagro offered US$400m, the report said.
However, the Herald understands that while Fonterra had been in talks with SanCor, it had not reached the stage of putting forward a formal offer.
A spokesman for Fonterra declined to comment, but chairman John Wilson last year confirmed that the co-op had been in talks with SanCor.
La Nacion said Fonterra had been viewed as the preferred candidate to take over SanCor.
SanCor is one of the leading dairy producers in Argentina, accounting for one fifth of the total production in the country and 90 per cent of the country’s dairy exports.
The co-operative was estimated to be worth between US$200m and US$400m, La Nacion said.
Adecoagro is involved in a range of businesses, including farming crops and other agricultural products, dairy operations, sugar, ethanol and energy production and land transformation.
Fonterra already has extensive interests in Latin America.
By: Jamie Gray
Source: NZ Herald
Link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12029942