The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company is a giant agribusiness in the U.S. biofuels industry.
However, that could be changing. Bloomberg says the company is in advanced stages of discussions on a deal that could mean a sale or joint venture for its ethanol dry mills.
The agricultural company that dates back for 118 years is in discussions with multiple companies about its future.
CEO Juan Luciano spoke last week about the discussions but wouldn’t name the fewer than five companies said to be involved.
“We are advancing things along with several different parties, and I can say that we are advanced in those discussions,” he says. “We want to find either the right buyer or the right partner for these things.”
He says while they haven’t made a final decision yet, “we are close.” ADM started producing ethanol back in 1978.
This isn’t the first time they’ve taken steps to divest themselves of the dry mills.
The company put the assets up for sale back in 2016, looked at the bids, and then decided to go ahead and keep the business.
Luciano adds,” I wanted to make sure at the start of my tenure that we focused on nutrition and food, not fuels. I like ethanol and I believe there’s a lot of potential for the product. I just don’t feel it’s for us.”
