PARIS: Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has agreed to sell a large stake to Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ, marking the first external investment into the family-run commodity group, founded by Leopold Louis-Dreyfus in 1851.
LDC’s holding firm will sell an indirect 45 per cent equity stake in LDC to ADQ, the companies said yesterday.
Along with Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd and Cargill, Louis Dreyfus belongs to the ABCD quartet of the world’s leading commodity trading houses. It has been trying to emerge from a period of weak margins for buying and selling staple crops and, in common with its peers, has shifted towards more towards food processing to try to boost revenue.
The transaction price was not disclosed but the companies said a minimum of $800 million will be invested into LDC.
The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, also includes a long-term supply agreement to sell agricultural commodities to the UAE, the companies said.
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who assumed control of the group in 2009 after the death of her husband Robert, had been seeking an investor after building up substantial debt to buy out minority family shareholders.
After she told Reuters in January she could sell a sizeable non-controlling stake, reports in September showed that LDC was in talks to sell a stake to ADQ.
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