Viterra Inc. (VTA) and XL Foods Inc. are pleased to announce they have entered into an agreement in which Viterra will acquire the assets of Lakeside Fertilizer (Lakeside), a division of XL Foods and southern Alberta’s largest independent retailer of fertilizer and agricultural chemicals. The transaction, which closed today, includes six retail outlets in Bow Island, Brooks, Claresholm, Medicine Hat, Taber and Vauxhall, Alberta.
“This acquisition allows us to further leverage our logistics and distribution network, ensuring that our customers in southern Alberta have the right products at the right time,” said Doug Wonnacott, Viterra’s Senior Vice-President, Agri-products. “It is also consistent with our overall strategy to optimize our retail footprint in Western Canada and increase our market share.”
Strategically located in a prime growing region of Alberta, the sites will allow Viterra to sell inputs for traditional crops, as well as high input specialty crops such as sugar beets and potatoes. Customers will have access to a full range of agri-products including Viterra’s exclusive line-up of proprietary seed, private label crop protection products, along with a variety of custom services. The acquisition will increase Viterra’s total number of retail sites to 259 across Western Canada.
Viterra Inc. is a global food ingredients agribusiness headquartered in Canada. The Company has extensive operations and distribution capabilities across Western Canada, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, with Adelaide, Australia being Viterra’s base for its Southeast Asian operations. Viterra also has offices and operations in the United States, Japan, Singapore, China, Switzerland, and a joint venture in Ukraine. The Company is diversified into sales and services of crop inputs and equipment, grain handling and marketing, livestock feed, food and malt processing and financial products. These operations are complemented by value-added businesses and strategic alliances, which allow Viterra to leverage its pivotal position between growers and destination customers. XL Foods Inc. is the largest Canadian owned and operated beef processor in Canada. It is part of the Nilsson Bros. Group of companies, which are a diverse agri-business that is involved in all facets of beef and cattle production, marketing and processing. XL Foods Inc. operates facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nebraska and Idaho.
