A major player in the agricultural and food sectors, Avril maintains strong local foundations and a commitment to serving the public interest. Today, the Group has confirmed its bid to take over operations at the METEX NØØVISTAGO factory in Amiens, along with the R&D activities essential to its operations (some of which are based in Saint-Beauzire) and its commercial operations based in Paris. In total, 304 jobs will be affected by Avril's takeover bid.
Alongside Avril, this bid is backed by the SPI investment fund (Sociétés de Projets industriels), managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French government as part of France 2030. It was also put together with the support of the Hauts-de-France region and the Amiens metropolitan area.
It aims to offer a sustainable future for the factory's production of amino acids via fermentation (for use in animal nutrition), as well as to secure jobs at the facility in accordance with Avril's values and long-term vision.
In alignment with Avril's mission and its unique value creation model, this industrial project fully addresses the challenges of decarbonization and French/European sovereignty in animal production sectors.
• The Amiens site is the last European facility producing amino acids via fermentation – including lysine, which is essential for animal nutrition.
• The incorporation of lysine into livestock feed enables a reduction in the use of imported soy, in favor of local plant proteins (rapeseed, sunflower seed, etc.)
• Fermented amino acids are a key lever for decarbonization, and for improving the environmental impact of livestock farming more generally.
The bid's approval remains subject to a number of conditions, and over the coming weeks Avril will continue working to meet these requirements along with the other stakeholders.
It will then be up to the Paris Commercial Court (Tribunal de Commerce de Paris) to approve or deny the bid.
The transaction is also subject to the finalization of the exemption and authorization procedures with the relevant competition authorities.
Jean-Philippe Puig, General Manager of Avril, stated: "In accordance with our mission and our Purpose, Serving the Earth, Avril is once again demonstrating its commitment to the animal and plant sectors. We are confident in the quality of our bid and in our collective ability, alongside the other stakeholders involved, to satisfy the conditions precedent. We are proposing a robust industrial project that aims to achieve an ambitious objective, and one that will serve the sector's overall interests. If the plan is selected, we want to build a sustainable future, alongside the employees and all our accompanying stakeholders, for an activity that is essential in terms of French and European sovereignty, notably in the animal production sector."