The French cooperative group InVivo reported yesterday plans to acquire 50 million euros for the new distribution business "Bioline" on the free capital market. The division is to offer equipment for agricultural businesses, such as seeds or pesticides.
Investors should be offered 20 to 30% of the shares. The project is to be financed in the first quarter of 2018, according to the CEO Thierry Blandinieres to the press.
The Bioline division will generate sales of 550 million euros by 2020. Then InVivo will acquire another 50 million euros in order to increase sales by 2025 to 1 billion euros.
The InVivo group brings together some 200 agricultural cooperatives in France. In a pilot project, she is currently forming a network of companies dealing with precision agriculture. The aim is to reduce the use of chemicals as crop protection by up to 50%.
InVivo had previously also financed its feed business "Neovia" with investors from the free capital market and thus recruited minority shareholders. The same is happening in a wine project.
InVivo also presented yesterday's 2016/17 financial statements.Accordingly, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 133 million euros were achieved. (Previous year: 116 euros). Sales fell to € 5.5 billion from € 6.4 billion, as the French grain harvest in 2016 was very weak. Therefore, the grain business of the company also wrote losses, as so many grain traders worldwide. This year it looks much better here.
InVivo had to lay off employees this year and built a digital platform to capture grain from its many cooperatives. In order to be less dependent on the French cereals market, InVivo set up its own corn and soybeans trading office in Brazil and another in Singapore to promote grain sales to the Middle East.
Text: HANSA Derivatives Trading GmbH /
