Election year politics in North Dakota may impede Viterra’s attempt to buy a pasta maker in Carrington, N.D.
Viterra announced an agreement in March to buy Dakota Growers Pasta Company for $240 million US, but the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner in North Dakota is asking that the sale be delayed.
Merle Boucher, who couldn’t be reached for comment, told North Dakota media last week he wants a three-month delay to provide time for the necessary public discussion.
He said he is concerned about the sale because public money was used to launch Dakota Growers Pasta in 1994.
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The pasta maker began as a co-operative but became a publicly traded company several years ago.
Doug Goehring, the state’s current agriculture commissioner and Boucher’s opponent in the fall election, said Dakota Growers shareholders have the right to approve or reject the Viterra bid.
“It’s a great success story for North Dakota for a value-added project,” he said.
“It is now a publicly traded company, which kind of takes it out of anybody else’s hands. The investors, the members, are going to have to determine if they want to go through with it. I had heard, or understood, a while back that there were probably only about 30 percent … that were in favour of it.”
However, he said a knee-jerk reaction to Viterra’s bid is unnecessary because Dakota Growers produces a high quality product.
“I don’t believe anybody would purchase it just to shut it down.”
Viterra has offered $18.28 each for all outstanding shares in Dakota Growers.
According to a news release jointly issued by both companies, the Dakota Growers board has approved the sale and is urging shareholders to support it.
The shareholders, mostly North Dakota farmers, have until May 3 to sell their shares to Viterra.
Dakota Growers is the third largest producer of dry pasta in North America.
It owns and operates a durum mill and pasta production plant in Carrington, along with a pasta plant in New Hope, Minnesota.
The company employs 450 people.
