Plum Grove buys stake in NSW business

Wheat pool specialist Plum Grove has expanded its reach with the acquisition of a major stake in New South Wales grain business Agrigrain.

Plum executive chairman Andrew Young said the deal, announced last week, would provide the buyer - whose shareholders include the Seaboard Corp, the Salim Group and Mitsui - entry into the NSW grain accumulation market via an established and diversified business.

"For Agrigrain, and its long-term owner David Ringland, Plum Grove brings significant risk management and financial capabilities and strong connection to bulk-end-use customer demand via our shareholders in Plum Grove," Mr Young said. "Naturally it provides geographical diversity from our traditional accumulation networks in WA and South Australia for different products and in particular Prime Hard wheat."

Agrigrain operates out of two NSW sites - at its original site in Narromine and through a newly established site in Coonamble.

The company manages about 200,000 tonnes grain storage, cleaning and container packing infrastructure at the sites.

In addition, Agrigrain offers fertiliser, seed and transport to more than 500 grower clients.

Agrigrain founder Mr Ringland will remain a shareholder and active manager in the business.

He said the agreement with Plum would provide Agrigrain with the capacity to grow with a partner of a similar culture.