A proposed sale of Gardiner Dam Terminal (GDT) to Regina-based grain-handling company Viterra has been given a green light by GDT shareholders.
In a news release, GDT board members confirmed that shareholders in a Dec. 13 vote approved the sale of the GDT grain terminal along with GDT’s wholly owned subsidiary, GDT AgServices Ltd.
The estimated purchase price is expected to fall in the range of $27.8 to $30.2 million.
GDT assets include a grain terminal at Strongfield, Sask., and GDT AgServices retail outlets located at Strongfield, Broderick and Tullis, Sask.
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Viterra already owns a 50 percent stake in GDT’s grain operations.
With shareholder approval in place, Viterra will become the sole owner of “substantially all of the assets of GDT and of its wholly owned subsidiary, GDT AgServices Ltd.,” the news release stated.
The deal is expected to close as early as Dec. 19.
Soon after the sale is completed, Viterra plans to sell the assets of GDT AgServices to Riverbend Co-operative Ltd., based at Outlook, Sask.
An earlier news release issued by GDT suggested that GDT shareholders could expect to receive between $1,175 to $1,275 per share once the sale is complete.
In a recent interview with the Western Producer, GDT chief executive officer Shawn Graham said GDT’s 23,727 outstanding shares are held by about 230 shareholders, most of them local investors.
The terminal’s board of directors began to explore opportunities to sell the company in the fall of 2017 after a number of shareholders expressed a desire to liquidate their equity in the company.
GDT employs 24 people at its terminal and ag retail locations.
Graham said all but two of those employees are expected to receive offers of employment from Viterra or Riverbend Co-op.
After the transactions are complete GDT and GDT AgServices will be wound up and dissolved, pending shareholder approval.
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
