Wilmar International forms joint venture with TGI Group for West African agri and food businesses

Wilmar International Limited and Tropical General Investments Group (TGI Group) have announced a significant strategic move, entering into definitive agreements to create a 50:50 joint venture. This partnership will merge their respective operating businesses in Nigeria and the Republic of Benin into a single, integrated platform focused on agri and food sectors.

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Nigeria and the Republic of Benin are key consumer markets in Africa, supported by a population of more than 260 million and sometimes experience structural deficits in both food production and distribution.

The combined platform will encompass a wide array of operations, including upstream agriculture, oil palm plantations, edible oils, edible nuts, rice processing, food manufacturing, and nationwide distribution. This integration aims to create a business with substantial scale across the agricultural value chain, from cultivation and processing to refining, manufacturing, and consumer distribution. The addressable market size across these categories in Nigeria and Benin is estimated at over $12 billion.

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The combination of Wilmar’s integrated palm oil and specialty fats capability and its global scale in food staples & consumer goods with TGI Group’s manufacturing scale, established consumer brands and nationwide distribution platform, creates a uniquely positioned business to serve African consumers and to contribute to the long-term development of the region.

Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman & CEO of Wilmar, highlighted Nigeria and Benin as key consumer markets with a combined population exceeding 260 million, often facing structural deficits in food production and distribution. He stated that the joint venture uniquely positions the combined entity to serve African consumers and contribute to the region's long-term development by merging Wilmar's global capabilities with TGI Group's local strengths.

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This transaction represents a compelling strategic fit for Wilmar in Africa. TGI Group brings strong local execution capabilities, established consumer brands and a deep distribution network, which are highly complementary to Wilmar’s upstream and processing strengths as well as portfolio of trusted brands.

Santosh Pillai, Wilmar's Africa Head, described the transaction as a compelling strategic fit, emphasizing TGI Group's strong local execution capabilities, established consumer brands, and deep distribution network as highly complementary to Wilmar's upstream and processing expertise. The joint venture, to be held by a Singapore holding company, is expected to be completed within the financial year ending December 31, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

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Together, we are creating an integrated platform with the scale, local insight and operating depth to better serve consumers in Nigeria and the