Viterra acquires U.S. dry pasta producer

Viterra Inc. has acquired U.S.-based Dakota Pasta Growers Co. Inc. in an all-cash transaction that values Dakota at US$240 million.

The deal was announced on the same day (March 10) that Calgary-based Viterra announced a big improvement in its first-quarter results.

Viterra’s consolidated sales and other operating revenues for the first quarter grew 29 per cent or $404 million to $1.8 billion.

The company says the results are largely due to its acquisition of Australia-based ABB Grain Ltd. last fall.

Who they are

Dakota, which last year reported revenues of US$275 million, is based in Carrington, N.D. and operates one of the largest durum mills in North America.

It’s the third-largest producer and marketer of dry pasta products and primarily supplies the ingredient, foodservice and private label retail markets.

The company was established in the early 1990s when a group of farmers and professionals organized more than 1,100 wheat farmers in the U.S. Midwest to build a grower-owned durum mill and pasta processing plant. Operations began in 1993.

Viterra was formed by the merger of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Agricore United.

The company provides ingredients to global food manufacturers and has operations across Western Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., with offices also in Japan, China and India.