Midwest Farmers will merge with Alceco
By Michele Linck, Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, September 20, 2008
SHELDON, Iowa --Midwest Farmers Coop will merge with the Albert City, Iowa, based Alceco.
Ballots counted Friday afternoon at Midwest's Sheldon elevator showed 83 percent of the 998 members who returned ballots approved the merger. The cooperative, which has 1,576 members, easily met the requirements that at least half of the ballots be returned and at least two-thirds of those be in favor of the merger for it to proceed.
The merger is scheduled to become effective Dec. 1. Midwest CEO Skip Hein said his members will become Class A preferred stock shareholders in Alceco, with full rights of membership.
Hein said the primary thing the merger does for his members is to maintain the cooperative structure of the business. "They're still shareholders and they're owners in the new company," he said. Midwest members will be represented by three elected members on the Alceco board.
Dixon Van Meeteren, chairman of Midwest's board, said in a statement, "The merger will help keep and attract great people and provide greater access to capital. Both will be critical to the future of our company."
Ag Partners, LLC., a joint venture between Alceco and Cargill, will be the operating company.
Ag Partners CEO Troy Upah called the election outcome a "vote of confidence" by Midwest's members. "Our plan is to make the integration between MFC and Alceco as seamless as possible," he said in a statement. "We won't disrupt the service patrons have come to expect from our company.¿
Effective Dec. 1, Ag Partners will operate facilities in Sheldon, Matlock, Hospers, Norwest Ag in Boyden, Maurice, Orange City, Carnes, Alton, Sutherland, Le Mars, Merrill, Hartley, Calumet, Alta, Emmetsburg, Fonda, Royal, and Albert City, Iowa.
Ballots counted Friday afternoon at Midwest's Sheldon elevator showed 83 percent of the 998 members who returned ballots approved the merger. The cooperative, which has 1,576 members, easily met the requirements that at least half of the ballots be returned and at least two-thirds of those be in favor of the merger for it to proceed.
The merger is scheduled to become effective Dec. 1. Midwest CEO Skip Hein said his members will become Class A preferred stock shareholders in Alceco, with full rights of membership.
Hein said the primary thing the merger does for his members is to maintain the cooperative structure of the business. "They're still shareholders and they're owners in the new company," he said. Midwest members will be represented by three elected members on the Alceco board.
Dixon Van Meeteren, chairman of Midwest's board, said in a statement, "The merger will help keep and attract great people and provide greater access to capital. Both will be critical to the future of our company."
Ag Partners, LLC., a joint venture between Alceco and Cargill, will be the operating company.
Ag Partners CEO Troy Upah called the election outcome a "vote of confidence" by Midwest's members. "Our plan is to make the integration between MFC and Alceco as seamless as possible," he said in a statement. "We won't disrupt the service patrons have come to expect from our company.¿
Effective Dec. 1, Ag Partners will operate facilities in Sheldon, Matlock, Hospers, Norwest Ag in Boyden, Maurice, Orange City, Carnes, Alton, Sutherland, Le Mars, Merrill, Hartley, Calumet, Alta, Emmetsburg, Fonda, Royal, and Albert City, Iowa.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
