Mr. Jeremy N. Kendall, Chairman and CEO of Stake Technology Ltd., and Mr. Dennis Anderson, Chairman and CEO of Northern Food & Dairy, Inc., today announced the signing of a Letter of Intent under which Stake Technology Ltd. will acquire 100 percent of the common shares of Northern Food & Dairy, Inc. through a share exchange.
Northern Food & Dairy, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of soy milk in the United States, supplying approximately 60 percent of the US market from its plant in Alexandria, Minnesota. Northern is in the final start-up phase of a major expansion of a second ultra-modern plant in Fosston, Minnesota, which will produce a new natural preservative under a contract with a major international ingredient company. In Bertha, Minnesota, Northern also owns and operates a third plant, which produces dry soy powders and other food ingredients.
“The acquisition of this versatile and profitable company completes our linkage from field to table,” said Kendall. “We now touch every part of soy production, from SunRich’s organic seeds, through soy bean purchasing, testing, and processing, to the production and packaging of soy milk for the largest US branded marketers of soy milk. We see this as a key market in the natural food sector, and anticipate significant growth as the market expands.”
“At Northern Food & Dairy, we are expanding to meet the substantial growth occurring in the soy milk market,” Anderson noted. “We now have 180 employees, and our third facility will soon be open. Management is excited about this merger with StakeTech. It will both enable more rapid growth and allow us to reach the critical mass necessary to take advantage of strategic opportunities in our market.”
A Special Stake Technology Shareholder Meeting has been called for August 18, 2000 to seek approval for this transaction.
Recently Northern Food & Dairy, Inc. and SunRich, Inc. announced the formation of a joint venture known as Nordic Aseptic Inc. (announced in a press release dated April 19, 2000) which has assumed the management of the Hoffman Aseptic liquid packaging plant, in Alexandria, Minnesota. The partners intend to complete the acquisition of Hoffman Aseptic in the next 30 days.
Stake Technology Ltd. is an owner/operator of high-growth ethical businesses, focussed on environmental responsibility and the health and well-being of its communities. StakeTech was named recently by Profit magazine in its ‘Profit 100’ as the 5th fastest growing company in Canada over the past 5 years. Currently, the company has three complementary business units: Steam Explosion, marketing clean pulping technologies; BEI, a producer, distributor, and recycler of industrial materials; and SunRich, Inc., an agritech company specializing in Identity Preserved grain products and natural food ingredients. Each of these business units has proprietary products and services that win it a solid competitive advantage in its sector.
Note: This news release may contain forward-looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. All figures are in Canadian dollars. The risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could influence actual results are described in the company’s annual report to shareholders and in SEC reports.
