October 19, 2020

ForFarmers acquires poultry feed miller De Hoop Mengvoeders

ForFarmers has acquired Dutch-based De Hoop Mengvoeders (de Hoop), the company said in a press release.

Both companies consider one powerful, international organisation, focusing on feed quality and advice for poultry farmers, to be of great added value to the poultry sector. Consumers are increasingly interested in the provenance of food. In addition the demand for high quality food, which has been manufactured in a sustainable manner, is growing. Accordingly, this has led to more strategic partnerships in the broiler food chain.

In 2019 De Hoop sold 322,000 tonnes of poultry feed, primarily to broiler farmers and generated €110 million (~US$129 million; €1 = US$1.17) in revenue. Approximately 80% of the produced volume is sold in the Netherlands, with the remaining 20% being sold from the Netherlands in Belgium and West-Germany. The company has 52 employees and production takes place in the modern mill in Zelhem (Gelderland, the Netherlands).

Pieter Wolleswinkel, managing director of ForFarmers Netherlands, says, "We are very pleased that we are joining forces with De Hoop, where quality of feed and advice are also prime aspects of their business philosophy. This combination therefore creates a strong proposition for all stakeholders and fully fits into our recently announced Build to Grow 2025 strategy."

Gert-Jan Buunk, managing director and owner of De Hoop, say, "The decision to become part of ForFarmers is future oriented and was primarily taken with the interest of employees and customers at heart. In our longstanding history we have always wanted to attract customers by offering them the best feed and the best advice. In ForFarmers we have found the company with a same philosophy and customer approach.'

ForFarmers will buy De Hoop's shares for the compound feed business and its related transport activities, and the mill with adjacent real estate. Completion of the transaction, which is pending approval of the Dutch and German competition authorities, is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2021. Financial details about the transaction will not be disclosed at this time.

Gert-Jan Buunk will manage the new company, which will be branded ForFarmers-De Hoop, together with Michiel Schreurs, director Poultry ForFarmers Netherlands.