Cargill sells malt business to European conglomerate

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota-based Cargill announced Thursday it had agreed to sell its malt business to Axéréal’s malt subsidiary, Boortmalt. The transaction involves the global malt business, including 15 facilities across four continents, representing more than 500 people, Cargill said in a news release.

This transaction would give Boortmalt access to a global footprint and offer further growth opportunities for Cargill’s Malt business and its people.

Boortmalt is one of the world’s leading maltsters with a long-term commitment to the malting industry, the news release says.

Cargill Malt serves the brewing, food and beverage industries by originating and transforming malting barley into malt. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of next year.

While the growth in microbreweries and brewing culture has been a boon for two-row barley — grown in the Western United States — fewer brewers use six-row barley, which is predominantly what western Minnesota and the Dakota farmers can grow in the Midwest climate, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.