Elders Limited has entered into an agreement to acquire Australian agribusiness, Delta.
Founded in 2006, Delta operates a network of 68 locations and serves around 40 independent wholesale customers and offers a range of farm inputs, including crop protection, seeds, animal health products, fertilisers, fuel, and general merchandise.
Delta also markets its own private label brand of agricultural chemicals and animal health products, while also offering farm advisory services through a team of agronomists and Precision Agriculture specialists.
Managing director and CEO Mark Allison said that rationale for this transaction between Elders and Delta was strong.
“All decision making at Elders is underpinned by an ambition to provide the best service for our clients and customers and the acquisition of Delta supports that,” he said.
“Delta provides us with greater exposure to key local retail markets as well as a market leading agronomy and farm advisory team to complement and extend our products and services range for rural and regional customers, particularly in New South Wales, North West Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.”
Under the terms of its integration with Elders, Delta’s leadership and operations will remain unchanged. Both Delta and Elders will continue to operate independently, maintaining the current structure of their networks and ensuring that customers receive the same level of service from both companies.
Allison said the agreement would also enhance Elders’ existing technical service network and its offering in Ag Tech and precision agriculture.
“Elders has a proven track record of synergy generation through backward integration and anticipates the acquisition will create meaningful value for Elders shareholders,” he added.
Delta management and employees will remain unchanged in line with Elders’ light touch integration strategy.
“There is strong cultural alignment between Elders and Delta, as two trusted agribusinesses seeking to create value for our customers,” said Delta managing director and co-founder Gerard Hines.
“Our management team will remain unchanged and we are excited to be able to continue to provide our customers with innovative and value adding business solutions with the added support of Elders.”
Completion of this acquisition is subject to customary conditions and ACCC clearance. This is expected to occur in the first half of calendar year 2025.