ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has agreed with Mediaco Vrac Development (headquartered in Marseilles, France; hereinafter “MVD”) to take part in the business of Provence Huiles (headquartered in Vitrolles, France; hereinafter “PH”), a subsidiary of MVD that manufactures and sells vegetable oil mainly in Europe, through a capital participation. ITOCHU will acquire the equity securities from MVD, and PH will become a subsidiary of ITOCHU by the end of 2015.

MVD is more than 25 years of history. In addition to the production and sales of vegetable oil, it also runs a business that focuses on logistics and bulk storage. In the production and sales of vegetable oil, it mainly handles high value-added vegetable oils, such as high oleic sunflower oil and grape seed oil, and operates its production and sales business primarily in Europe and South America. Demand for these products is rising in the midst of the growing health consciousness around the world in recent years. In response to this demand, ITOCHU will seek to expand this business by taking full advantage of its sales capabilities in North America and Asia.

ITOCHU promotes the establishment of a global value chain that extends from the secured procurement of food resources upstream to product processing/manufacturing and wholesale midstream and retail businesses downstream. By taking part in the business of PH, ITOCHU will obtain a business base in Europe, the center of the world market, and strengthen its value chain. In the vegetable oil business, ITOCHU will respond to rising health consciousness around the world, and aim to ensure a stable supply of high value-added vegetable oil by adding manufacturing and sales bases in Europe and South America to its existing business foundation in the United States.

Company Profile of Provence Huiles

Company Profile of Mediaco Vrac Development