La Coop fédérée and Maizex Seeds enter into joint venture partnership

La Coop fédérée, an agri-food cooperative headquartered in Montréal with operations across Canada, has entered into a Joint Venture partnership with Maizex Seeds, a leading corn and soybean seed company based in Tilbury, Ontario. The partnership will have a broad, national presence, and the two organizations will develop synergies between their existing operations, building on a foundation as a fully Canadian, farmer-owned seed company.

Maizex Seeds produces and markets seed corn and seed soybeans, while La Coop fédérée produces and markets seed for corn, soybeans, cereals, and forages under the Elite brand. The partnership with Maizex will enable the two organizations to add further to the strengths and expertise that each brand currently brings to the market. Over the coming months, the companies will be working together to launch a comprehensive market strategy to provide full product access and support to farmers across the country.

"As seed and grain distribution operations are becoming more competitive every day, we are pleased to invest and reinforce our presence in Ontario and on the Canadian market" said Ghislain Gervais, President, La Coop fédérée. This partnership will generate new efficiencies but more importantly better seed offering to all farmers in Canada."

"La Coop fédérée is the ideal partner for Maizex, not only given their ownership and shared values, but also their shared vision to invest in the scale and scope of seed business needed to service Canadian farmers across this great nation well into the future." notes Dave Baute, President and CEO of Maizex Seeds. He adds that La Coop fédérée has a track record of success that has resulted in it being one of the largest Canadian agri-food organizations.

"This partnership with Maizex Seeds will create a more diversified portfolio of products for the benefit of Canadian farmers, remarks Sébastien Léveillé, Executive Vice President, Agribusiness Division at La Coop fédérée. "We believe that it is important to farmers across the country to have a strong Canadian seed choice. Maizex Seeds shares our company's values and like us works to enhance the prosperity of Canadian farmers and their families."

The financial terms of this agreement will not be made public.

About La Coop fédérée
Founded in 1922, La Coop fédérée is the largest agri-food enterprise in Quebec and it is the 24th largest agri-food cooperative in the world. It represents more than 120,000 members, agricultural producers and consumers grouped into nearly 70 cooperatives with operations spread out in many Canadian provinces. More than 13,000 people are employed at La Coop fédérée which has annual revenues of $6.3 billion. Including its affiliated network, La Coop fédérée has nearly 18,000 employees and consolidated revenue of $9.2 billion. Its activities are separated into three Divisions: Olymel S.E.C (under the Olymel, Flamingo and Lafleur banners), the Agri-business division (under the La Coop, Elite, Agrocentre Agrico and Agromart banners), and Groupe BMR under the BMR, Unimat, Agrizone and Potvin & Bouchard banners). 

About Maizex Seeds
Maizex Seeds produces and markets seed corn for grain and silage, and seed soybeans to meet the needs of farmers across Canada. Based near Tilbury, Ontario, Maizex has grown by meeting customer needs through product performance and high quality seed production.