Commodity trader Olam hunts bolder deals after US$2 bil spree

(Sept 14): Olam International, one of the world’s largest food commodities traders, is targeting more acquisitions next year after a US$2 billion ($2.7 billion) spree since late 2014 involving deals in cocoa, peanuts and wheat.

“We have enough dry powder to execute both our organic and inorganic growth strategy,” Chief Executive Officer Sunny Verghese said in an interview in Singapore.

The global agribusiness is in the midst of an M&A boom that’s reshaping the industry, coinciding with a slump in food-commodity prices such as wheat that’s trading near a 10-year low. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. announced a merger that would create the world’s largest crop-nutrient supplier while Glencore Plc is selling stakes in its agriculture unit to Canadian pension funds for US$3.25 billion.

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