Bunge intends to acquire the grain elevator assets of North West Terminal Ltd. at Unity in western Saskatchewan.
The company announced the deal in a Sept. 22 news release outlining the purchase agreement.
It includes the grain elevator and storage assets but not the fermentation and distillation facility on the same site.
The facility has storage capacity of 63,000 tonnes, making it one of the largest in Western Canada, as well as full cleaning and drying capability. Both CN and CPKC provide rail service to the site.
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NWT, however, has booked several years of financial losses and announced last September it would indefinitely halt operations at the Unity elevator, about 80 km southwest of North Battleford.
NWT said in a separate release Sept. 22 it expects the aggregate purchase price to be $27 million, “substantially all” of which would go to pay down debt.
“Given the current state of the grain industry and the recent financial results of the company’s grain division, the board believes it is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders to sell the company’s grain assets, make a significant repayment of debt and continue to operate the fermentation and distillation business,” NWT chairman Brad Sperle said in a separate release.
The sale is subject to approval by NWT shareholders — who include local farmers and others — at a meeting to be held for the week of Oct. 20, and would then close on or about Oct. 29.
“We firmly believe that our operational and logistical expertise, focus on superior service and targeted future investments in the facility will allow us to bring it to its full potential for the benefit of our customers,” Bunge Canada CEO Kyle Jeworski said in a separate release. — Includes files from Grainews staff
