By Matthew Cowley
The European Commission said Friday it has granted conditional
clearance for Cargill Inc. to buy Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM)
chocolate business in Europe, the last regulatory hurdle for the
deal to be completed.
Cargill and ADM first announced the deal in September 2014, when
they said Cargill would pay $440 million for the chocolate
business.
It is part of ADM's plan to exit the cocoa and chocolate
business altogether as it looks to focus on other businesses that
are less volatile. In December, in a separate transaction, it
agreed to sell its global cocoa business to Olam International
Limited for $1.3 billion.
The European Commission demanded that Cargill sell the
industrial chocolate production facility in Mannheim, Germany, to
ease competition concerns. Cargill said in a statement that the
unit will be kept as a separate entity with its own interim
management until it can be sold.
Once the deal is completed, Cargill said it will take control of
three chocolate, compound and liquor production sites in North
America and three chocolate and compound production sites in
Europe. The Ambrosia, Merckens and Schokinag brands will join
Cargill's existing portfolio of high quality chocolate brands,
Cargill said.
Write to Matthew Cowley at matthew.cowley@wsj.com
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