AGT Food and Ingredients

AGT Food and Ingredients Inc.
Company typePrivate Company
IndustryAgriculture
Founded2001
HeadquartersRegina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Number of locations
47 facilities (2016)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Murad Al-Katib (President and CEO)
Hüseyin Arslan (Executive Chairman)
RevenueIncrease CA$1.9 billion (2016) [1]
Increase CA$83 million (2016) [1]
Increase CA$21 million (2016) [1]
Total assetsDecreaseCA$1.3 billion (2016) [1]
Total equityDecrease CA$0.3 billion (2016) [1]
Number of employees
1,900 (2016) [2]

AGT Food and Ingredients is a Canadian processor of pulses and other food ingredients. It is one of the largest pulse-processing companies in the world.[3]

History

AGT was founded in 2001 as SaskCan Pulse Trading by Murad Al-Katib, the present CEO.[3] He received funding from the Arslan family of Turkey, owners of the Arbel group, a Turkish pulse-processing company.[3] Murad Al-Katib won the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the year in Canada[4] and the 2017 EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.[5] Murad Al-Katib is honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association.[6]

In 2007, the Agtech Income Fund acquired SaskCan, and then renamed itself Alliance Grain Traders.[7] As a result of this deal, Alliance Grain Traders was listed on Toronto Venture Exchange.[7]

In 2009, Alliance Grain Traders converted from an income fund to a normal corporation. Also in 2009, Alliance Grain Traders bought the Arbel group for $104 million, including its pasta business.[7][8]

In 2011, the company took over South Africa based Advance Seed.[9] Since 2012, it has shifted into the packaged foods business.[10] In particular, it has expanded production at its facility in Minot, North Dakota.[11]

In 2014, the company was renamed AGT Food and Ingredients.[3] In 2015, AGT bought Big Sky Rail, a Saskatchewan short line railway, for $57.5 million.[12] In 2018, it was part of the consortium that purchased the Hudson Bay Railway.[13]

On February 5, 2019, the company announced shareholder approval for a privatization deal led by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Murad Al-Katib, in consortium with Fairfax Financial and Point North Capital.[14] On April 17, 2019, the transaction to take the company private was closed.[15]

Business

AGT buys, processes, and distributes pulses, including lentils, peas, and beans, as well as grains and other agricultural commodities.[10] It also manufactures and distributes food ingredients and packaged foods. In 2016, pulses were responsible for 58% of sales, milled grains for 7%, and rices and other products for 35%.[2] As of 2016, 58% of revenue was from pulse and grain processing, 28% was from distribution, and the other 14% was from food ingredients and packaged foods.[2] It has facilities in Canada, the United States, Turkey, China, South Africa, and Australia. In 2016, 6% of sales were in Canada, 12% were in the rest of the Americas, 28% were in Asia-Pacific, and the other 54% were in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "AGT Financial Results 2016". Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "AGT Annual Information Form 2016". Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Power of Pulses: A tale of two pulse processors". Regina Leader-Post. 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  4. ^ "Murad Al-Katib". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  5. ^ "Murad Al-Katib - EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Class of 2017, Canada". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  6. ^ "al-katib - Alumni and Friends". alumni. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  7. ^ a b c "A decade on Alliance Grain Traders has achieved a lot". Financial Post. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  8. ^ "Alliance Grain to buy Arbel Group in $93 mln deal". Reuters. 2009-06-17. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  9. ^ "South Africa: Advance Seed Taken Over By Alliance Grain Traders". Biz-Community (Cape Town). 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  10. ^ a b Milstead, David (2017-11-11). "Smart Money Willing to Play the Waiting Game on AGT". The Globe and Mail.
  11. ^ "Food sector bright spot for AGT - The Western Producer". The Western Producer. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  12. ^ "Pea Producer Bypasses Prairie Traffic Jam With Own Railroad". Bloomberg.com. 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  13. ^ "Warm reception in Churchill for new owners of port and railway | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  14. ^ "AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. Announces Shareholder Approval of Plan of Arrangement and the Final Results of the Cash Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation for its 5.875% Senior Notes due 2021 (Press release)". www.newswire.ca. Feb 5, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  15. ^ "AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. Announces Completion of the Plan of Arrangement and Tender Offer (Press release)". www.newswire.ca. Apr 17, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-01.