Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Corp is in talks to sell a stake to Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
For the privately held company, which has been facing a challenging business environment, bringing external investors would be a first in its 169-year-old history.
US-China Trade War
In 2019, LDC profits declined sharply, on low prices due to the impact of US-China trade war and the swine fever epidemic in China.
Louis Dreyfus declined to respond to Reuters' request for a comment, while ADQ was not available for a comment.
Reuters in January exclusively reported that LDC was open to selling a large non-controlling stake to an external stakeholder, after a buyout of family minorities was finalised last year.
LDC, majority owned by Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, is the 'D' of the so-called "ABCD" quartet of global agricultural commodity traders that includes Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd and Cargill Inc.
ADQ: A State-Backed Holding Company
ADQ, a state-backed holding company, has been acquiring businesses in the commodities and agriculture sectors.
Its portfolio include the General Holding Corporation PJSC (Senaat), which has its subsidiaries trading in agri-food and industrial assets.
In May, ADQ also bought a controlling stake in Al Dahra Holding, an Abu Dhabi-based multinational animal feed and essential food commodities specialist firm.
