Glencore Xstrata seek buyers for Dakota Growers Pasta Co

Commodities and mining giant Glencore Xstrata Plc is looking for buyers for its Dakota Growers Pasta Co business, which came into its portfolio last year following its $6.2-billion acquisition of Canadian grain handler Viterra.

Glencore has hired Barclays to sell Dakota Growers in a deal which could fetch the London-listed company around $300 million to $400 million, Reuters today reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the process.

Calgary-based Viterra had acquired Dakota Growers in 2010 for $240 million.

Based in Carrington, North Dakota, Dakota Growers is the third largest manufacturer and marketer of dry pasta products in North America and the manufacturer and its flagship product is Dreamfields Pasta.

It operates one of the largest durum mills in North America and is the third largest producer and marketer of dry pasta products, primarily supplying the ingredient, food service and private label retail markets.

The company owns an integrated durum mill and pasta production plant in Carrington, North Dakota and a pasta production plant in New Hope, Minnesota.

Its durum milling capacity is 1,000 metric tonnes a day, with an annual pasta output of 560 million pounds processed through 14 production lines.

Glencore had sold some of most of Viterra's Canadian business to fertiliser company Agrium, grain handling firm Richardson International and CF Industries, for $3.5 billion in order to get Canadian regulators approval for the deal.