One of the global leaders in sugar and ethanol, the French Tereos group, is going to establish, in the capital of São Paulo, Tereos International, a company that will have annual revenues of US$ 2.5 billion.
It will be the junction of the assets of Guarani, a Brazilian company that is owned by the French one, Tereos’ grain operations in Europe, and its sugarcane operations in the Indian Ocean.
Tereos International will be listed in the New São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), as well as in the NYSE Euronext, in Paris, France, and aims to be the global leader in the field of foods and bioenergy.
In an interview to the press, executives of the to-be-established Tereos International stated that the transaction will enable faster growth for the company, which will have US$ 366 million in EBITDA, based on data from September last year.
“It will make us more resistant to the economic and commodities cycles,” said Alexis Duval, the Strategy and Finance director of Tereos International.
The company will be four times larger than Guarani currently is, with sales operations in 103 different countries, and will be the third leading processor of sugarcane worldwide, with 18 million tons per crop.
“We are going to have access to a larger capital market, with greater ease for obtaining financing,” said Duval.
According to André Trucy, the new company’s CEO, the expansion of operations will be sped up through increased capacity and acquisitions. They, however, did not wish to comment on prospective purchases.
The man in charge of activities in Brazil, Jacyr Costa, claimed that the company is going to make use of the high growth potential of the Brazilian market and other emerging ones. “We are going to leverage our scale in order to better seize existing opportunities,” he said.
The first step for the establishment of the company will be the approval, by the stakeholders in Guarani, of the incorporation of the Brazilian company’s assets by Tereos International.
Afterwards, a request will be placed for the new company to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and listed on the New São Paulo Stock Ex change (Bovespa), which has higher standards of transparency.
Tereos International intends to obtain funds through public offering of shares, after the companies’ partnership has been restructured.
The Tereos group owns a 69% stake in Guarani and, after the transaction, intends to remain the majority stakeholder in Tereos International.
According to a release issued by the group, the new company will be the only investment target outside of its beet sugar business in Europe.
After the operation, Tereos International will be a leader in sugarcane production in Brazil and the Indian Ocean, ethanol in Brazil and Europe, starch and starch sweeteners in Europe.
In the sugar industry, the intention is to expand mostly in sales of refined products, which have greater added value, said the executives.
