CHS Inc. said Tuesday that it has completed the purchase of West Central Distribution, a Willmar-based company that sells herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, among other things, to farmers.
The deal, which was announced in late 2018 pending due diligence and regulatory requirements, will bring West Central's 248 employees and 26-state footprint under CHS, the agriculture co-op and energy processor based in Inver Grove Heights.
CHS had owned a 25 percent stake in the distributor since 2015 and had done business with the firm for decades.
"Having a well-run, lean operation that creates value closest to the grower is really the objective here," said Gary Halvorson, senior vice president of CHS Agronomy. "It's a wonderful investment for CHS and our cooperative owners."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Joining CHS builds on our shared values and history of collaboration," said Mike Fiebelkorn, West Central's president, in a statement. "With the combined strengths of both organizations, we can better meet the needs of CHS and West Central customers."
Halvorson said the cultural fit between the two companies is good, and West Central's employees will become CHS employees.
"You've got about 250 families with some anxiety about what might happen to that company," Halvorson said. "And so we now are the proud stewards of that responsibility and we take it seriously to make sure that each one of those families has a good experience being part of CHS."
