Shareholders of North East Terminal in Wadena, Sask., have voted to accept a $25 million purchase offer from Richardson International.
Garnet Ferguson, outgoing terminal general manager, said 71 percent of shareholders were either present or represented by proxy at an April 6 meeting and vote.
“They voted 92 percent in favour of the transaction,” he said. “It was decisive.”
The deal is expected to close April 13.
Shareholders will get $700 to $750 before tax per $100 original share.
Ferguson said some at the meeting asked why Cargill, which had been a partner with NET since it opened, had not bought the company.
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The sale arose from an unsolicited offer in June 2010. The NET board sought offers from other companies as part of its due diligence process.
“Cargill has been a tremendous partner over the last 19 years and they had submitted a very competitive bid, but there was two or three areas that Richardson’s bid was superior and that’s why we made the decision,” Ferguson said.
Cargill had a 22 percent stake in NET and had said it would go along with the wishes of local shareholders.
“We actually had an agreement in place that our A, B and C local shareholders voted, and the result was told to Cargill and they voted accordingly,” Ferguson said.
All employees except Ferguson and the company’s controller will be offered jobs.
Ferguson said the last couple of years have been stressful and he is happy to have some down time.
The Richardson logo will soon appear on the main terminal at Wadena, along with crop input facilities at Wadena, Kelvington, Foam Lake and Ponass Lake.
“It’ll be a sad day but it’ll be an exciting day at the same time,” Ferguson added.
Richardson said the purchase is a good fit with its canola crushing plant in Yorkton, Sask., and expands its presence in east-central Saskatchewan.
