WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb. 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Richardson International Limited is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to purchase CJS Agro Services Ltd., a private, family-owned crop input retailer with two locations in southeastern Alberta. The sale is expected to close by March 2, 2012.
CJS has crop input retail locations in Hussar, Alberta and Acadia Valley, Alberta. The Hussar location is a full-service, crop input centre that retails chemical, fertilizer and seed. The second location in Acadia Valley sells seed and crop protection products.
"Through this acquisition, we continue to grow our crop input business and expand our Richardson Pioneer network into new geographic areas," says Darwin Sobkow, Vice-President, Agribusiness Operations for Richardson. "We look forward to building customer relationships with producers in these areas and offering enhanced services to meet their growing needs."
The purchase of CJS is the latest in a series of crop input centre acquisitions in the last two years. In 2010, Richardson purchased three crop input locations in the Peace River region of Alberta. Last year, the company acquired North East Terminal in Wadena, Saskatchewan, which included four crop input centre locations.
"At Richardson, we are focused on continuing to grow our business through both acquisitions and by continued investment in our facilities," says Sobkow. "We are committed to increasing our network and investing strategically with the goal to provide best-in-class services to farmers in Western Canada."
Current employees at the CJS locations in Hussar and Acadia Valley will be offered the opportunity to join the Richardson team.
Richardson International is Canada's largest, privately owned agribusiness and has served farmers across the country for 155 years. Based in Winnipeg, Richardson has over 1,700 employees across Canada and is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds. Richardson is one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies and is recognized as a global leader in agriculture and food processing.
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For more information, please contact:
Tracey Shelton
Director, Corporate Communications
(204) 934-5169 or (204) 799-2838
Tracey.Shelton@Richardson.ca
The Richardson International Limited logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11734
