September 19, 2013

Ningbo Tech-Bank to acquire AgFeed's operations in China
 

Ningbo Tech-Bank Co., Ltd. plans to acquire AgFeed Industries, Inc., which is currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, at US$52.88 million and will take over its operations in China.

Listed at the Shenzhen stock exchange, Ningbo Tech-Bank produces animal nutritional products including aquatic feed, livestock feed and feed ingredient, together with veterinary biologics, environmental microorganisms, water quality purification products, aquatic feed, complete formula feed, concentrated feed, premix feed and other feed ingredients.

The purchase of the Agfeed's Chinese assets comes after Ningbo Tech-Bank won a group of three bidders, including the livestock production arm of Smithfield Foods Inc., in an auction on Monday for AgFeed Industries Inc.'s U.S. assets with a US$79.2 million bid.

AgFeed was engaged in animal nutrition, premix, concentrates and complete feeds, and hog production. In 2010, Agfeed operated 31 farms in China & 10 sow farms with over 200 farm finishing system in the United States, 2,000 employees and 5 feed mills.

It was founded in China in 1995 as a feed producer and expanded its operation to hog production in 2007. In 2010, it entered the US market through the purchase of the hog producer M2P2 LLC. In July this year, AgFeed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.