Groupe Soufflet

On the 28th March 2023 Malteries Soufflet, the global #2 Maltster and owned by French Farmer Cooperative In Vivo, made a non-binding indicative takeover bid for ASX listed United Malt Group, the global #4 Maltster.

The bid values UMG at A$1.5 billion and is a 45% premium over the share price listed the Friday before. The UMG Board has given Malteries Soufflet the opportunity to conduct due diligence on an exclusive basis for a 10-week period that is expected to finish end of June.

If successful, the merged entity would have operations in every important malt producing geography of the world and become the world’s #1 Maltster with a total capacity of 3.6mmt. This would also mean the 3 largest Global Maltsters would be owned by French Farmer Cooperatives and produce ~9mmt pa representing 37% of the worlds malting capacity.

The Kardinian estimates that given the global footprint of both entities rarely overlap there will be no substantial competition issues preventing the merger and provided due diligence is uneventful it’s unlikely the merger will not proceed.