Archer Daniels Midland completes sale of chocolate business

Archer Daniels Midland says it sold its chocolate business to agribusiness conglomerate Cargill for $440 million.

The companies announced the sale in September. Privately held Cargill said the deal would strengthen and expand its chocolate business, and Archer Daniels Midland said the sale would allow it to redirect its spending to other areas. Cargill says its chocolate business now has about 3,000 employees, including 670 that transferred from Archer Daniels Midland.

Under an agreement with antitrust regulators in the European Union, Cargill will sell an industrial chocolate production facility in Mannheim, Germany.

Chicago-based ADM processes corn and wheat and makes agricultural products like vegetable oil, ethanol and ingredients used in packaged foods and drinks. It bought Switzerland’s Wild Flavors for $3.13 billion last year, and reported $17.51 billion in revenue in the first quarter.

In December, ADM agreed to sell its cocoa business to Olam International for $1.3 billion in a separate deal.