ForFarmers has announced its intention to buy Countrywide Farmers’ £124 million turnover feed and forage business, accounting for 400,000 tonnes of annual delivery to UK farms.
The price paid for the transaction, which is subject to clearance by the UK competition authorities, is based on an enterprise value of £15.2m, on a cash-free, debt-free basis. ForFarmers is currently the main manufacturer to Countrywide of compound feed.
“ForFarmers has had a longstanding and successful relationship with Countrywide since 2005,” said Iain Gardner, COO of ForFarmers UK, adding that the company was an excellent example of a livestock feed company that had a tradition of combining the sale of general and specialist feed products with expert feed advice towards its clients.
ForFarmers’ CEO, Yoram Knoop, commented: “Customer demands both in the UK and across Europe are changing as scale and complexity increases in the food and farming industry. Farmers increasingly require customised solutions that add value to their business and we have reacted to this by developing The Total Feed Business’ approach by supplying livestock nutrition in whatever form our customers require it.”
He also said the acquisition of the Countrywide business was “entirely consistent” with the on-going development of ForFarmers’ portfolio of products and services.