Agriculture Group (UAG) has purchased the Uruguayan assets of agribusiness firm El Tejar, for an undisclosed sum.The acquisition is part of UAG's strategy to build up its prime landholdings in the country, and strengthen its position in Latin American agribusiness segment.
The group currently owns 105,000 hectares in Uruguay and its agricultural operations include soybeans and wheat, rice, dairy, cattle and sheep.
UAG will now have access to 67,000 hectares farmed by El Tejar, bringing the total farmland area it manages in the South American country to 172,000 hectares.
The parties intend to fully merge their agricultural production operations, to create two new regional operating clusters of prime agricultural land in the center and west of Uruguay to complement the seven clusters of farms already operated by UAG.
The merged operations will benefit from significant economies of scale and operational synergies.
UAG executive chairman Juan Sartori said, "We saw this as a good opportunity to consolidate the agricultural sector in Uruguay and continue to build one of the largest agribusinesses in Latin America.
"The purchase of El Tejar's operations in Uruguay presented us with a rare opportunity to acquire an important and strategic agricultural asset which fits perfectly with our existing operations."
