Viterra jumps into the pasta business

Viterra is making another big acquisition. It’s taking over Dakota Growers Pasta Company. The company has an integrated durum mill and pasta production plant in Carrington, North Dakota and a pasta production plant in New Hope, Minnesota. Dakota Growers is one of the largest durum milling companies in North American with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes a day. It is the third largest producer and marketer of pasta products. The acquisition price tag is $240 million U.S. – nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. Observers have always lamented the lack of durum milling and pasta production in Western Canada. There have long been debates over whether or not the Canadian Wheat Board has been a deterrent to that sort of value-added processing. Regardless of your view on this, it is not easy for a new player to get established in the pasta industry. It requires a very large investment and you’re trying to break into a mature market. Viterra is acquiring an existing major player. Viterra does a huge business in durum and has rights to the popular variety Navigator. Although it would be great to have the jobs and economic activity here in Western Canada, this Viterra acquisition would appear to be a logical investment. I’m Kevin Hursh.