In June 2022, Borealis received a binding offer from Agrofert a.s. for the acquisition of its nitrogen business. The business includes fertiliser, melamine and technical nitrogen products.
The transaction, valued at €810 million on an enterprise value basis, has now been completed, Borealis announced today.
Agrofert is a Czech-based group active in a number of industries in Central Europe, with activities ranging from chemicals and agriculture to food production. The group, which generated a consolidated turnover of €10 billion in 2022, is comprised of over 200 companies and employs approximately 31 thousand people.
One of the leading European nitrogen fertiliser producers, it has manufacturing facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The acquisition of Borealis’ production assets in Austria, Germany, and France, including a comprehensive sales and distribution network, not only expands Agrofert’s existing capabilities across Europe, it also adds melamine to Agrofert’s portfolio.
“Based on this transaction, a strong European company will now evolve, securing a stable supply of fertilisers and, as a consequence, with crops and food products for Austria and Europe,” said Borealis CEO, Thomas Gangl. “Borealis will now continue to focus on its core activities of providing innovative and sustainable solutions in the fields of polyolefins and base chemicals and on the transformation towards a circular economy.”
Agrofert will now focus its efforts on integrating Borealis’ nitrogen business into the Agrofert group. According to Petr Cingr, vice chairman of the Board of Directors at Agrofert a.s. and responsible for Fertilizers, Fuels, Oils and Renewables, the deal will allow the company to new markets, such as France, the Benelux countries, Bulgaria and Serbia.
“Our goal as a strategic investor is to develop existing operations and further invest in their modernisation and sustainability, just as we have been doing in the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia for many years. We see it as our responsibility to provide farmers with sufficient amount of quality fertilisers in the countries where we operate,” he said.