CHS to Buy 8 Cargill Grain Elevators

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- CHS Inc. announced on Tuesday it plans to buy eight Cargill grain facilities in five states, according to a news release from CHS.

CHS said it has signed an intent-to-purchase agreement with Cargill, to "continue optimizing its enterprise supply chain while providing market access and end-to-end value to owners."

Those Cargill elevators are located in Pipestone and Maynard, Minnesota; Morris and Seneca, Illinois; Holdrege, Nebraska; Cheyenne Wells and Byers, Colorado and in Parker, South Dakota. In all, the purchase would add about 15.5 million bushels of grain storage capacity to CHS Inc.'s business.

The purchase is "tentatively planned" to close in early June 2024, according to CHS.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the companies.

"Our farmer-owners look to CHS to provide them with local assets that have the speed and space to serve their needs today and into the future," Rick Dusek, executive vice president of ag retail distribution and transportation for CHS, said in a news release.

"Purchasing these grain assets is part of a larger strategy to invest in our enterprise supply chain, efficiently connecting our owners to the global marketplace."

Cargill said in a statement on Tuesday that the two companies "have a strong partnership" based on "shared values, strategic alignment and an effective and efficient business model."

Cargill said that makes CHS the "right partner for this sale."

CHS Inc. is the nation's No. 2 grain-handling company in North America, according to Sosland Publishing Co.'s 2022 Top 10 list of grain majors. As of 2022, CHS owned 231 licensed grain storage facilities with an overall capacity of 403 million bushels (mb). Cargill was No. 4 on the list with 348 mb of storage at 196 facilities.

According to the 2024 Grain and Milling Annual published by Sosland, capacities at the facilities are 3.074 million bushels at Maynard, 1.682 million at Pipestone, 125,000 at Morris, 1.594 million at Seneca, 3.075 million at Holdrege, 3.248 million at Cheyenne Wells, 1.725 million at Byers and 935,000 at Parker.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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