Seaboard acquisition moves Grindrod into commodity trading

TERRY HUTSON DURBAN-BASED Grindrod Group has bought the external commodity trading and shipping operations of Seaboard Corporation of Kansas City USA. Seaboard operates out of both Bermuda and South Africa as a trader and supplier of agricultural commodities worldwide. Grindrod’s MD Ivan Clark said the acquisition was the beginning of a commodity trading arm within the Grindrod stable and would complement current shipping operations within the group, particularly Island View Shipping and the Grindrod logistics division. “Our agreement with Seaboard Corporation is that we bought the business as a going concern, so that as far as customers and suppliers are concerned it remains business as usual. A substantial number of the staff currently employed by Seaboard have transferred across to the newly formed operation which will operate under the name of Atlas Trading & Shipping. Grindrod, which operates South Africa’s largest fleet of ships, recently embarked on a programme of diversifying its operations. In recent weeks it has announced the purchase of Sheltham Rail, a leading private South African railway operator, as well as bulk terminals at the ports of Walvis Bay and Maputo. “We promised investors that we would continue to diversify our activities to counter shipping cycles and this is another diversification,” said Clark. “The plan is to grow our commodity trading activities through Atlas Trading & Shipping and other avenues. It is really exciting to buy into businesses which are complementary to our shipping and logistics operations but provide us with a far broader base of activities.”