NEW YORK, NY, USA – Hartree Partners, LP (“Hartree”), a global energy and commodities trading company, announced on August 2, 2024, that it has acquired the majority of ED&F Man’s outstanding A2 and B1 Senior Secured Legacy Debt and entered into an exclusive agreement in respect of the acquisition of ED&F Man Commodities’ three business units Volcafe (coffee), ED&F Man Liquid Products (molasses, animal feeds and fish oil) and ED&F Man Sugar.
ED&F Man is one of the world’s leading providers of soft commodities and logistics. The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
In conjunction with the transaction, ED&F Man Commodities’ lenders are amending and extending ED&F Man Commodities’ three current cross-commodity facilities until March 31, 2026.
Guy Merison, one of Hartree’s Founding Managing Directors, said: “This agreement marks the exciting first step in the expansion of Hartree’s global commodities platform into soft commodities. We look forward to working with the ED&F Man Commodities team to leverage Hartree’s insights, capabilities and strong relationships, paired with ED&F Man Commodities’ globally recognized heritage in trading, for the benefit of all our clients and other stakeholders.”
Chris Mahoney, Chair of ED&F Man Holdings Ltd, added: “This agreement marks the start of a new and exciting chapter in ED&F Man’s 240-year history, giving ED&F Man’s employees and its customers and suppliers around the world an experienced, long-term partner with shared values. Hartree is a global firm with a strong balance sheet and a highly skilled management team that has deep understanding of the commodities space and an appetite for growth. We look forward to partnering with Hartree to achieve ED&F Man Commodities’ full potential.”
About Hartree Partners
Hartree Partners, LP is a leading global merchant commodities firm specializing in energy and associated industries. Established more than 25 years ago and jointly owned by senior management and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., Hartree has a unique 25+ year track record in proprietary trading and investing in energy markets across the globe. Hartree’s core strengths are understanding the complexities of the global commodity market and risk pricing and converting that knowledge into consistently successful trading strategies. Today, the firm has over 700 employees and a further approximately 1,000 associates in its operating companies and a strong balance sheet available for trading and principal investment purposes. For more information, please visit https://www.hartreepartners.com/.
About ED&F Man Commodities
ED&F Man Commodities is one of the world’s leading providers of soft commodities and logistics including sugar, coffee, molasses, animal feeds and fish oil. ED&F Man was originally founded in 1783, and has since grown into a leading global trader of agricultural commodities products. ED&F Man Commodities comprises:
Volcafe has a history dating back to 1851 and is one of the world’s largest traders of Arabica and Robusta coffees supplying the Roasting Industry with beans for over 80 billion cups of coffee a year. Today it is regarded as a best-in-class coffee trader with a strong emphasis on sustainability and aims to be the world’s best coffee partner.
ED&F Man Liquid Products (MLP) is the leading global trader of molasses and associated products. It is also the world’s largest distributor of molasses based liquid animal feeds as well as being leaders in beet pulp pellets and fish oil. It directly and indirectly feeds over 20 million animals per day, forming a key part of global livestock production as well as also fueling the fermentation industry.
ED&F Man Sugar is one of the largest traders of sugar in the world, moving over 6,000,000 tonnes of sugar per year. With core teams based in offices across the globe, ED&F Man sources and supplies raw sugar to refineries worldwide, is one of the largest receivers of white sugar on the London Commodity Exchange in recent years and is a leader in the distribution of added value, certified sustainable specialty sugars.
