Downer & Company, LLC, Announces Divestment of Norsk Hydro Subsidiary
Treka A/S completes sale of Swedish Agricultural Business
BOSTON, February 10, 2003 - Downer & Company, LLC, an international investment banking firm specializing in middle-market, cross-border corporate acquisitions and divestitures, recently announced that its client, Norsk Hydro ASA, through its subsidiary Treka A/S Denmark (previously KFK A/S), has formally concluded the divestment process of Svenska Foder AB to a consortium of Swedish and Danish Agricultural Companies. Norsk Hydro ASA is a leading energy and materials company, based in Oslo, Norway, with operations in three core areas of expertise: Oil and Energy, Aluminum and Agriculture.
Downer & Company has been jointly advising Norsk Hydro on the divestiture of non-core activities. In November, the Norsk Hydro subsidiary Korn og Foderstof Kompagniet (KFK) announced the sale of part of its agricultural and animal feed activities to a consortium of eight Danish feedstuff and grain companies, with Downer & Company acting as one of its advisors on the transaction. Following the announcement, the name of the holding company for the remainder of KFK’s agri and other related businesses, including Svenska Foder AB, was changed from KFK to Treka A/S. The sale of Svenska Foder AB to the aforementioned consortium virtually completes Norsk Hydro’s divestiture of its primary feed related activities and leaves Treka A/S as the holding company for BioMar A/S, a leading fish feed manufacturer, and EcoNordic, a leading Nordic supplier of alternative energy sources.
Svenska Foder AB concentrates on the development, production and sale of animal feeds and seed grain as well as the trade in and sale of feedstuffs, market fertilizers, crop protecting agents, and other agricultural products. All shares of Svenska Foder AB have been transferred to Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab and Svenska Lantmännen, which now own shareholdings of 51 and 49 percent, respectively.
About Downer & Company
Since its inception in 1975, Downer & Company, LLC, has gained distinction as a leading middle-market M&A firm focused on the execution of acquisition and divestiture mandates for international and domestic corporations and private equity firms. Downer & Company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and has offices in Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt and Sydney. Downer & Company received an award for transacting the “International Cross-Border Deal of 2004” and was recognized as the top Investment Banking Firm of 2003 by The Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor. Downer & Company's corporate headquarters are located at 60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109. For further information, visit www.downer.com.
Contact
Joseph J. Downing
Managing Director
Downer & Company, LLC
jdowning@downer.com
Patti Harrington
Marketing Director
Downer & Company, LLC
pharrington@downer.com
