Provimi was founded near
Rotterdam, the
Netherlands in 1927, where it started up as a trading company for Dutch farmers. In 1971, the American agricultural company
Central Soya bought Provimi. In 1988, Central Soya was taken over by
Eridania Béghin-Say Group, a large French
agribusiness conglomerate. In the years to follow, Provimi went through a period of internal and worldwide external expansion until 2001, when the Eridania Béghin-Say Group was broken into four companies, one of which was Provimi. In 2002, Provimlux, a holding company jointly controlled by funds advised by
CVC Capital Partners and
PAI Partners, acquired the 53.66% majority shareholding of Provimi. After the subsequent execution of a standing offer, Provimlux held 74.05% of Provimi, which remained listed on Euronext. In the years to follow, Provimi continued its external growth. In April 2007,
Permira bought the majority of Provimi's shares from
CVC Capital Partners and
PAI Partners. The Provimi Group was delisted from the Euronext Stock Exchange in Paris on 6 November 2009 and is wholly owned by KoroFrance SAS, a company indirectly controlled by investment funds managed or advised by Permira Advisers LLP. In November 2011 the company was acquired by
Cargill for €1.5 billion ($2.1 billion US). == References ==