美國嘉吉入股烏克蘭農業巨頭

Cargill, the US-based agriculture trading giant, has doled out $200m for a stake in Ukraine’s largest agribusiness holding UkrLandFarming, in a potentially far-reaching deal that sources said would see both groups partner up in future grain exports to China and other growing markets.

總部位於美國的農產品貿易巨頭嘉吉(Cargill)已斥資2億美元入股烏克蘭最大的農業綜合控股企業UkrLandFarming。該交易可能產生深遠影響。消息人士稱，該交易將讓嘉吉和UkrLandFarming聯手發展未來對中國和其他增長中市場的穀物出口。

The deal, for 5 per cent of UkrLandFarming, boosts Cargill’s strong trading presence in one of the world’s most promising agriculture commodity producers. It comes amid reports that China was rejecting imports of genetically modified US corn as it stepped up organic purchases from Ukraine.

UkrLandFarming是全球最具前景的農業大宗商品生產商之一。嘉吉將通過該交易獲得UkrLandFarming 5%的股份，強化自身在這家企業中的強大貿易影響力。與此同時有消息稱，中國將拒絕進口美國的轉基因玉米，加大對烏克蘭有機產品的購買。

The transaction puts a value of $4bn on UkrLandFarming, the world’s eighth-largest land cultivator and second-biggest egg producer through its 77 per cent ownership in London-listed Avangardco. The conglomerate was founded and built up in recent years through acquisitions by Oleg Bakhmatyuk, a Ukrainian billionaire.

按照該交易的出價，UkrLandFarming的整體估值爲40億美元。這家由烏克蘭億萬富翁奧列格•巴赫馬秋克(Oleg Bakhmatyuk)創建、並在近年來通過一系列收購發展壯大起來的農業綜合企業，眼下已是世界第8大種植商；此外，通過持有倫敦上市企業Avangardco 77%的股份，UkrLandFarming還是世界第2大雞蛋生產商。

“The transaction will help Cargill secure long-term supplies from one of Ukraine’s largest farmers, and gives UkrLandFarming a very strong strategic partner that will help them achieve their goals of broadening exports, especially in Asia,” said Nick Piazza, chief executive of SP Advisors investment bank.

投行SP Advisors的首席執行官尼克•皮亞扎(Nick Piazza)表示：“該交易將確保嘉吉能從烏克蘭最大的農企那裏獲得長期供應，並讓UkrLandFarming擁有一個非常強大的戰略合作伙伴，幫助他們實現擴大出口的目標，尤其是對亞洲的出口。”

Ukraine, which harvested a record corn harvest last year of 29m tonnes, hopes to boost exports this season by some 35 per cent to 18m tonnes, catapulting the eastern European country to the ranks of the world’s top corn exporters. It vies with Argentina for the title of the world’s third-largest corn exporting country.

烏克蘭寄望於在本季將出口增加35%左右，達到1800萬噸，從而躋身世界頭幾大玉米出口國之列。這個東歐國家去年玉米收成創下紀錄，達到2900萬噸。烏克蘭目前正在與阿根廷爭奪世界第3大玉米出口國之位。

Ukraine made its first corn shipment to China late last year, as part of a $3bn loan-for-corn deal brokered by state companies in both countries.

按照一項價值30億美元的貸款換玉米協議，烏克蘭去年年底首次向中國出口玉米。該協議是在兩國的國企撮合下達成的。

Mr Bakhmatyuk said that UkrLandFarming hoped to sell up to 700,000 tonnes of corn to China this season, boosting total annual exports within five years to reach 6m tonnes with one-third destined for Asia.

巴赫馬秋克表示，UkrLandFarming希望在本季向中國出口最多70萬噸玉米，在5年內將年出口量增至600萬噸，其中三分之一將出口至亞洲。

The deal comes amid Ukraine’s deepest political crisis in a decade. Home to some of the world’s richest farming land, it earned the title “Breadbasket of Europe” centuries ago for its ability to feed growing populations.

嘉吉入股UkrLandFarming之際，烏克蘭正經歷10年來最嚴重的一次政治危機。烏克蘭一些耕地的富饒程度在全球名列前茅，幾個世紀以前，這個國家養活不斷增加的人口的能力就爲其贏得了“歐洲麪包籃”的稱號。

Cargill opened a Ukrainian operations base in 1991. In recent years it has acquired or built grain silos, sunflower seed processing capacity and an animal feed mill in the country.

嘉吉1991年在烏克蘭設立了運營基地。近年來，該公司在烏克蘭收購或自建了一些穀倉、葵花籽加工廠以及一家動物飼料廠。

Rival traders, including New York-listed Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland and Swiss-based Glencore, also have businesses in Ukraine.

嘉吉的競爭對手也在烏克蘭開展業務，比如紐約上市企業邦吉(Bunge)和ADM公司(Archer Daniels Midland)、以及總部位於瑞士的嘉能可(Glencore)。

A Cargill spokesperson said: “At any given point in time Cargill is investigating a number of business opportunities. We do not comment on rumours or speculation and would only comment as and when these opportunities come to fruition.”

嘉吉的發言人表示：“嘉吉隨時都在研判若干商業機遇。我們不就傳言或猜測置評，只會在商機有結果時置評。”