Grain Cooperative Mergers and Acquisitions, 1993-97

RBS began keeping detailed statistics on mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, bankruptcies, and other “M/C” activities in 1993. Of the 367 events involving grain cooperatives, most occurred in recent years (53 percent in 1996 and 1997), and among cooperatives having less than $15 million in total sales (63 percent). These cooperatives were located principally in the heartland. Eighty-seven percent occurred in either the Corn Belt or the Southern Plains. Almost 70 percent (252 of 367) involved cooperatives merging with another. A small number of cooperatives either merged with (9) or were acquired by (18) investor-owned-firms. This report analyzes the operational and financial characteristics of the cooperatives that were merged or consolidated (M/C) during 1993-97. The report also frames M/C and surviving cooperatives in the context of agriculture’s economic restructuring. Lessons learned provide insights to the challenges that lie ahead for grain cooperatives hoping to thrive