December 10/Melbourne, Australia/ENP Newswire -- Cargill has entered into an agreement to purchase Goodman Fielder's Commercial Edible Fats and Oils business.

The A$240 million purchase includes the commercial business' four fats and oils refining assets located in West Footscray in Melbourne, Murarrie in Brisbane, Bunbury near Perth and East Tamaki in Auckland, New Zealand. Goodman Fielder will retain the title to the land at the Brisbane facility that is subject to an extended lease back to Cargill.

"The operations refining footprint complements our existing state-of-the art edible oil refinery in Newcastle near Sydney," said Bram Klaeijsen, president and regional director, Cargill Asia-Pacific. "This acquisition will provide Cargill with national Australian and New Zealand manufacturing and supply capabilities, which will enable us to better serve our customers."

The sale also involves a long-term supply agreement under which Cargill will supply refined fats and oils products to Goodman Fielder. "We are very pleased that Goodman Fielder has chosen Cargill as a long-term partner for this important supply agreement," said Klaeijsen. "We are confident that with our advanced fats and oils technologies and broad food ingredients portfolio we will provide value to this partnership and our customers in the region."

Cargill's portfolio of food ingredients, applications expertise and processing capabilities complements the commercial fats and oils business. "This acquisition will be a solid platform for future growth in Australia and New Zealand," said Klaeijsen. "It will enable us to offer our customers integrated solutions that help drive growth through new product innovation, and deliver efficiencies through our supply chain, risk management and process optimization capabilities.

"People will be a key factor in making our new integrated food ingredients business a success in Australia and New Zealand. We greatly value the people that will join us from Goodman Fielder. By combining their talents with those of our Cargill people, we will create a strong team that can successfully serve customers and drive profitable growth."

"Overall, Goodman Fielder's Commercial Edible Fats and Oils business is an excellent complementary fit with our existing operations, product portfolio and capabilities," he said.

The purchase is subject to a number of conditions, including approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

From the December 21, 2009, Prepared Foods E-dition