Calgary’s Agrium has expanded its stake in retail farm fertilizer sales to include ownership and rebranding of 33 outlets in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The fertilizer and ag retail giant said Monday it has bought up the fertilizer assets it didn’t already own at five Engro franchises and another joint venture, for a total of six sites in southern Saskatchewan and 27 in southern and central Alberta.
The outlets, with combined annual revenues of about $162 million, will be rebranded under the Crop Production Services (Canada) Inc. name, Agrium said Monday.
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Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. A specific list of the affected outlets wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.
Agrium has already been in the retail crop input business in the U.S. for about 17 years under the Crop Production Services brand name.
“The purchase of these retail assets marks our entrance into the Canadian retail market and will enhance our ability to serve all our customers in these regions,” Agrium CEO Mike Wilson said in a release.
“These acquisitions are an important part of our retail growth strategy and are expected to be accretive to earnings in 2010.”
The company’s move into its home country is “in line with our goal of doubling our retail EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the future and providing further diversity in our retail business,” Wilson said, adding that Agrium “will continue to look at selective retail opportunities as they arise.”
Counting the outlets in this deal, Agrium in the past six months has bought over 60 farm centres in the U.S. and Canada. That count also includes 24 former Agriliance retail outlets in Texas and New Mexico and four other independent outlets in the U.S.
Agrium’s other plays in the North American ag retail sector have included its 2008 takeover of UAP. The company is also currently involved in a hostile bid for U.S. fertilizer rival CF Industries.
