Olam, Forafric, Flour Mills of Nigeria… Many consulted the archive. Finally, according to our information, the battle to buy Somdia's factories in Togo, Gabon, Congo and Cameroon is being fought between three buyer candidates.
Revealed by Business in Africa + AND young Africa in April, the sale of four Somdiaa subsidiaries – Société Générale des Moulins du Togo (SGMT), Société Meunière et Avicole du Gabon (SMAG), Société les Grands Moulins du Phare (SGMP) and Société le Grand Moulin du Cameroon (SGMC) – was the subject of preliminary discussion between Castel and the American giant Seaboard, a heavyweight in flour milling in the O continent. However, these negotiations were unsuccessful.
While the process may progress in September, here are the three contenders in the battle.
- Coastline, the favorite
Led by Robert L. Steer, former right-hand man of Steven Bresky, the group's emblematic leader, who passed away in July 2020, the American giant is, by far, the best placed to win the bet. A global player in the agri-food sector and transport, it is a leading miller on the continent, implemented in six countries: Senegal, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia.
Getting your hands on Somdia's four factories would allow it to expand its presence, especially in Central Africa, and achieve economies of scale while developing its commercial activities. Already the buyer, in 2017, of the Grands Moulins d'Abidjan (GMA) and the Grands Moulins of Dakar (GMD) for a value of more than 300 million euros, Seaboard has the financial resources (11 billion dollars in turnover in 2022, +21% within a year) and the technical know-how to carry out a new major operation.
- America, the merchant who wants to be a miller
A long-time supplier of fertilizers and cereals to the continent, this Swiss business, owned by Andreas Zivy, is also in contention. Led by Frenchman William Dujardin, former member of Louis-Dreyfus and Bunge, and with revenue of 10 billion in Swiss francs in 2022 (around 10 billion euros, +5% in 1 year), sees the acquisition of Somdia's four factories as a way to consolidate its positions in Africa and diversify its activities.
If the trial was transformed, the trader, who has offices in South Africa and Egypt, would become a competitor to Seaboard and undermine another major player, Singaporean Olam, both trader and miller. A bold bet but not impossible to win for the ambitious William Dujardin.
- Agrial, the stranger
Almost no one saw this coming. Born in 2000 from the merger of three Norman cooperatives (Agralco, Coop Can and Orcal), a French cooperative is in the race. Its strong point: ensuring that the Somdia mills, now active in France, and the wheat flows that supply them, remain under French control. Led by a group, Arnaud Degoulet (president and producer in Sarthe) and Ludovic Spiers (general director and former Agralco), Agrial has 12,000 member farmers and achieved a turnover of 7.2 billion euros in 2022.
Established in just two countries on the continent (Morocco and Senegal), where it operates in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables, it employs 4,500 employees in Africa out of the 22,000 they employ worldwide (including 13,000 in France). She will create the surprise ?
