Archer Daniels Midland Com­pany has announced this spring an agreement to purchase several assets of Eaststarch C.V., ADM’s 50-50 joint venture with Tate & Lyle. Under the terms of the agreement, ADM will take full ownership of corn wet mills in Bulgaria and Turkey, and will own a 50?% stake in a wet mill in Hungary. Tate & Lyle will receive a cash consideration of € 240 m and take full own­ership of the Eaststarch facility in Slovakia.
Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s Corn Processing busi­ness unit, explains: “With the coming end of sugar pro­duction quotas in the EU, the artificial cap on cereal-based sweeteners will be lifted. There will be tremendous opportu­nities in the new European sweetener market, including a particularly strong opening in Eastern Europe, where there is less sugar pro­duction. By acquiring a greater ownership share in these corn assets, ADM will be able to better serve our customers as they meet this expanding European demand for sweeteners. At the same time, we are improving our capabilities to meet customer needs in the grow­ing market for starch in Europe.”

The Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary facilities have a combined daily grind ca­pacity of approximately 200,000 bushels. They pro­duce primarily sweeteners and starches; the ­Hungary facility also produces ethanol for fuel, beverage and industrial uses. This will increase ADM’s global grind capacity for corn 7.5?%, to approximately 3 million bushels per day.
As part of the trans­action, Archer Daniels Midland company will supply Tate & Lyle with crystalline fructose from the Turkey facility. In addition, Tate & Lyle will appoint ADM as the exclusive agent for the sale of liquid sweet­eners and industrial starches produced by its EU plants.