ADM divests stake worth $550m in Wilmar JV

Ingredients provider ADM has completed the divesture of secondary block trade of shares in its Singapore-based Wilmar joint venture for approximately $550m.

Wilmar is an agribusiness and packaged food oils company in Asia, and ADM first partnered with Wilmar and its affiliated companies in the early 1990s for establishing a network of soybean processing operations in China.

Following this divesture, ADM is left with a nearly 20% stake in Wilmar.

ADM chairman and CEO Juan Luciano said: “We are exceptionally pleased with our longstanding relationship with Wilmar.

“This transaction provides ADM with additional capital while retaining that strong relationship. We have no plans to sell additional Wilmar shares, and look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.”

ADM intends to use the proceeds from this divesture for potential bolt-on acquisitions.

Since 1994, ADM has been investing in Wilmar as part of its strategy to invest in emerging markets.

In June 2018, Wilmar International and the National University of Singapore (NUS) established a new research laboratory known as WIL@NUS with a S$110m ($81m) investment.

The 2,000m² laboratory is located at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and used to conduct research into clinical nutrition and synthetic biology.

WIL@NUS comprises two main research clusters. The first cluster aims to address public health issues such as diabetes and obesity by studying the impact of food structure and composition on nutrition and health within Asian populations.