Molinos Río de la Plata
Encyclopedia
Molinos Río de la Plata ( BCBA
: MOLI) is Argentina
's largest branded food products company. The company is a large exporter of sunflower
processed oil and is one of Argentina's main exporters of bottled oil. Molinos also produces a wide range of packaged foods for domestic consumption, including bottled oil, margarine
, pasta
, pre-mixes, packaged flours, yerba mate
, rice
, cold cuts, and frozen foods.
, then a prominent local wheat
milling company established by Belgian immigrants in 1884. They had one of the largest wheat mills in the country built on a Puerto Madero
lot in 1902, and with it, established Molinos Río de la Plata (later a leader in the local retail foods market).
Bunge & Born divested itself of almost all its retail foods interests in 1998, however, and was reorganized as Bunge Limited
, upon which a controlling stake in Molinos was sold to Gregorio Pérez Companc
.
On August 1, 2002, Molinos announced the partial repurchase of its USD $150 million senior secured export note
s (SENs), due 2006. Molinos repurchased USD $31.4 million face value of the notes at a 25% discount, using available cash balances. Following the repurchase, the amount outstanding on the SENs is USD $52.6 million.
The transaction has improved Molinos' financial profile by reducing the debt burden and lowering debt servicing costs. Molinos remains current on its scheduled debt payments. Notwithstanding, Molinos' credit risk remains high due to the negative financial ramifications of the peso's devaluation and the adverse economic environment in the country. On a pro forma
basis at June 30, 2002, after accounting for the repurchase, Molinos' total consolidated financial debt reached Arg$718.8 million (approximately USD $188 million), composed mainly of a balance outstanding on its SENs of US$52.6 million and US$84 million in working capital
finance, most of it dollar denominated.
Molinos operates 20 manufacturing plants, 10 distribution centers, and 600 trucks, among other facilities. It owns 75,000 hectares (188,000 acres) of prime Pampas land for the production of wheat
.
Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange is the organization responsible for the operation of Argentina's primary stock exchange located at Buenos Aires CBD. Founded in 1854, is the successor of the Banco Mercantil, created in 1822 by Bernardino Rivadavia.Citing BCBA's self definition: "It is a...
: MOLI) is Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
's largest branded food products company. The company is a large exporter of sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
processed oil and is one of Argentina's main exporters of bottled oil. Molinos also produces a wide range of packaged foods for domestic consumption, including bottled oil, margarine
Margarine
Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...
, pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
, pre-mixes, packaged flours, yerba mate
Yerba mate
Maté, yerba maté or erva maté , Ilex paraguariensis, is a species of holly native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, cold cuts, and frozen foods.
Overview
Molinos Río de la Plata (Molinos) originated with the 1899 establishment of Centenera, a food processing plant, by Bunge y BornBunge y Born
Bunge y Born was a multinational corporation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose diverse interests included food processing and international trade in grains and oilseeds...
, then a prominent local wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
milling company established by Belgian immigrants in 1884. They had one of the largest wheat mills in the country built on a Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio of the Argentine capital at Buenos Aires CBD, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and representing the latest architectural trends in the city of Buenos...
lot in 1902, and with it, established Molinos Río de la Plata (later a leader in the local retail foods market).
Bunge & Born divested itself of almost all its retail foods interests in 1998, however, and was reorganized as Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited is a Bermudan food conglomerate with its headquarters in White Plains, New York. As well as being a leading global soybean exporter it is also involved in food processing, grain trading, and fertilizer...
, upon which a controlling stake in Molinos was sold to Gregorio Pérez Companc
Gregorio Pérez Companc
Gregorio Perez Companc also known as "Don Gregorio" or "Goyo," is Argentina's wealthiest individual, with an estimated net worth of US$1.4 billion dollars in 2011.- Background :He was born Jorge Gregorio Bazán in Buenos Aires, in 1934...
.
On August 1, 2002, Molinos announced the partial repurchase of its USD $150 million senior secured export note
Trade finance
Trade finance is related to international trade.While a seller can require the purchaser to prepay for goods shipped, the purchaser may wish to reduce risk by requiring the seller to document the goods that have been shipped. Banks may assist by providing various forms of support...
s (SENs), due 2006. Molinos repurchased USD $31.4 million face value of the notes at a 25% discount, using available cash balances. Following the repurchase, the amount outstanding on the SENs is USD $52.6 million.
The transaction has improved Molinos' financial profile by reducing the debt burden and lowering debt servicing costs. Molinos remains current on its scheduled debt payments. Notwithstanding, Molinos' credit risk remains high due to the negative financial ramifications of the peso's devaluation and the adverse economic environment in the country. On a pro forma
Pro forma
The term pro forma is a term applied to practices or documents that are done as a pure formality, perfunctory, or seek to satisfy the minimum requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine...
basis at June 30, 2002, after accounting for the repurchase, Molinos' total consolidated financial debt reached Arg$718.8 million (approximately USD $188 million), composed mainly of a balance outstanding on its SENs of US$52.6 million and US$84 million in working capital
Financial capital
Financial capital can refer to money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services or to that sector of the economy based on its operation, i.e. retail, corporate, investment banking, etc....
finance, most of it dollar denominated.
Molinos operates 20 manufacturing plants, 10 distribution centers, and 600 trucks, among other facilities. It owns 75,000 hectares (188,000 acres) of prime Pampas land for the production of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
.