CHS Inc. (Nasdaq: CHSCP) will acquire soy products company Solbar Industries Ltd. (TASE: SLBR) for $113 million - a 117% premium on its yesterday's closing market cap of NIS 221 million. Solbar's share price rose 95.5% by midday to NIS 13.38, giving a market cap of NIS 440 million.
Kibbutz Hatzor owns 21.66% of Solbar, Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd. (TASE:MISH) owns 16.63%, and First Israel Mezzanine Investors Fund (FIMI), run by general manager Ishai Davidi, owns 27.84%.
CHS will pay NIS 14 per share ($4) for Solbar, compared with yesterday's closing price of NIS 6.84. Solbar's debt will be fully converted into equity. The deal will be closed in the first quarter of 2012. Merrill Lynch brokered the deal.
Solbar provides soy protein ingredients to manufacturers in the meat, vegetarian, beverage, bars and crisps, confectionary, bakery, and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. Headquartered in Ashdod, Solbar has manufacturing and logistics facilities in Ashdod, Ashkelon, South Sioux City, Nebraska, and Ningbo, China. Minneapolis-based CHS is an energy, grains and foods cooperative, owned by US farmers, ranchers and co-ops.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 24, 2011
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