K+S Group said it has completed the acquisition of a 75% stake in the fertilizer business of South African trading company Industrial Commodities Holdings (Pty) Ltd. (ICH). The agreement to acquire the stake was announced on Jan. 26 (GM Jan. 27, p. 26). K+S and ICH have not commented on the transaction price.
The acquired fertilizer business will now be operated within the joint venture under the name Fertiva (Pty) Ltd. Fertiva will constitute a distribution network with the already existing K+S Group companies in Kenya and Uganda.
The other 25% of the shares in the new sales company will be held by two former ICH shareholders who previously managed the fertilizer business at ICH and are now also part of Fertiva’s management team.
“With this acquisition, K+S is further promoting the expansion of its core business and at the same time strengthening its activities in southern and eastern Africa,” K+S said.
ICH has been distributing K+S fertilizers in the southern part of Africa for more than 40 years, as well as products from other manufacturers. Sales volumes of ICH’s fertilizer business in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, totaled approximately 543,000 mt, according to K+S.