The acquired business - through its well-known Shur-Gain brand in eastern Canada and Landmark brand in western Canada - is the leader in animal nutrition technology and offers a wide range of products such as complete feeds, premixes, feed speciality products, feed additives and pet food. The business has strong, long-term customer relationships, an ambitious and experienced management team and a sound financial track record. The revenues are approximately CAD 650 million (EUR 430 million) with a strong earnings margin.

This major acquisition fits Nutreco's core business growth objectives. The animal nutrition business in North America is the largest in the world and it has been a long standing ambition of Nutreco to increase its presence in this important area. Nutreco's growth strategy in animal nutrition focuses on capturing strong positions in nine countries where Nutreco is already active: Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Poland, Mexico, Russia and the United States.

The business is Canada's leading animal nutrition supplier with an overall share of above 20%. Total production in 2006 was 1.7 million tonnes of feed (5.9 million tonnes on a compound feed equivalent basis). It owns and operates 18 dedicated feed manufacturing facilities. The company has approximately 1,200 employees in eight Canadian provinces and New York State.

Juergen Steinemann, Nutreco's Chief Operating Officer, stated:"I am very pleased with this transaction as it allows us to establish a leading position in North America with good growth potential. This acquisition also provides a solid platform for further steps in this region. We welcome the people of Maple Leaf's animal nutrition business who will team with Nutreco to strengthen our global activities."

The closing of the transaction will be subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Rabo Securities and its affiliate, Rabobank International, acted as an exclusive financial advisor to Nutreco.

Since the announcement of the ‘Rebalancing for Growth' strategy, Nutreco has acquired animal nutrition and fish feed businesses in Japan, Mexico, Russia, China, India, Poland, UK, Indonesia, Guatemala, Italy and the USA. In Brazil, Nutreco established a new feed specialities production facility.