Feed Alliance, an Avril business unit, and SOLTEAM formally announced today they are conducting exclusive negotiations in order for Feed Alliance to acquire a majority stake in the company, alongside SOLTEAM's long-standing shareholders. This transaction, which requires the approval of the French Competition Authority, would strengthen SOLTEAM's financial structure, enabling it to secure sustainable supplies for the animal nutrition sector. SOLTEAM is one of the French leaders in the importation of non-GMO soya oilseed meals, traced and guaranteed "zero deforestation".
Created in the early 2000s, SOLTEAM can rely on a solid portfolio of loyal clients. Among them is Feed Alliance, which, along with the four shareholder cooperatives, accounts for more than half of the Nantes-based company's business.
Feed Alliance's new stake in the capital of SOLTEAM will enable the latter to enhance its expertise against a background of soaring raw material prices. At present there is a demand for non-GMO, traced and guaranteed "zero deforestation" soya that has never been so strong in France, in addition to French soya whose production levels remain insufficient. This new affiliation will enable a better response to the demands of livestock farmers and the entire sector, as well as to the consumers' new expectations.
As the majority shareholder with 51% of the capital, Feed Alliance will obtain a controlling interest on the Board of Directors. The four incumbent cooperative shareholders - Terrena, Fermiers de Loué, Cavac, and Agrial, along with the two founders, will continue to work alongside Feed Alliance in the company's ongoing development, as they have since the company's inception. The company's operational management will continue to be run by the two founders, Laurent Houis and Guillaume Bettinger and its headquarters will remain in Nantes.
This reorganization of SOLTEAM's capital represents a key step in securing adequate supplies of oilseed meal for the agricultural world, particularly French livestock farmers. In addition to French soya, this guarantees French livestock farmers oilseed meal 100% traced at the point of production, thanks to SOLTEAM's expertise in matters of sourcing, and thus enables farmers to meet the common challenge of protecting biodiversity and the planet's natural resources.
For Jean-Philippe Puig, CEO of Avril, "This investment falls directly in line with our purpose, Serving the Earth, and in accordance with our commitments. Indeed, this provides us with greater scope for action to protect natural resources and maintain biodiversity, in keeping with our goal of sourcing 100% of our palm and soya from sustainable agriculture by 2030. This move also confirms our ambition to continue to develop and grow in the service of the French agricultural sector, particularly with regard to livestock farming."
For Laurent Houis and Guillaume Bettinger, the founders of SOLTEAM, "With the unfailing support of our long-standing shareholders, we succeeded in building SOLTEAM by putting the notion of partnership at the heart of our business model. It is in this spirit that we successfully established a privileged relationship with Feed Alliance. This collaboration naturally leads us to imagine a common future around a strategic project shared by all our partners."
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About SOLTEAM
Created in 2005 and headquartered in Nantes, France, SOLTEAM is one of the French leaders in the importation of non-GMO oilseed meals that are traced and guaranteed "zero deforestation".
About Feed Alliance
Created in 1999, Feed Alliance provides expertise in the purchase and sale of agricultural raw material intended for livestock feed manufacturers. The company, an Avril business unit, supports the development of sustainable, traced raw material channels for animal nutrition. Feed Alliance brokers five million tons of agricultural raw material annually on behalf of its clients.