Olam International agreed to acquire 100% of the equity of McCleskey Mills Inc. from its owners. The deal is structured as a full‑control buy‑out, with the key employee shareholders, including Joe West, remaining in the business to drive integration and future growth. MMI brings into Olam’s portfolio the third‑largest U.S. peanut sheller, with two large shelling plants and a secure position in the Southeastern U.S. peanut belt, which produces 70% of the nation’s peanuts and is the lowest‑cost major origin globally. The acquisition allows Olam to backward‑integrate into U.S. peanut shelling and combine MMI’s shelling capacity with its existing peanut‑blanching and ingredient‑processing footprint in the U.S. (Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas) as well as its shelling operations in Argentina, India, and South Africa. Olam expects to achieve multiple cost synergies, including optimisation of procurement, logistics, and storage, and to expand its position as a leading global supplier of peanut‑based ingredients and blanched peanuts to food manufacturers and consumers.

MCCLESKEY MILLS, which reported an EBITDA margin of LOGIN in 2013, is valued in this transaction at an EV/EBITDA multiple of LOGIN, representing a LOGIN discount to the average currently observed in the AgriFood sector (10.3x).

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