US farm with 93,000 hectares for sale: 10,000 cattle on 2 islands.
10,000 cattle, deer, bison, and a slaughterhouse in the middle of nowhere. One of the largest slaughterhouses in Alaska is located on the storm-battered Umnak Island.
The BayWa has now divested its shares in the Austrian Raiffeisen Ware Austria as agreed. With the repurchase, RWA now holds all its business threads in hand.
The Raiffeisen Ware Austria (RWA) AG now holds all its company shares solely. According to the Austrian conglomerate, the repurchase of the RWA shares previously held by BayWa AG was completed on May 2 after intense negotiations.
This step increases flexibility and enables a consistent focus on core markets, explained RWA on the conclusion of the deal. The Austrians entered into a strategic alliance with BayWa in 1999 based on a stock exchange.
Decision made in December
By the end of 2024, a contractual agreement on the repurchase of RWA shares had been reached between BayWa and the Austrian business partners. According to a previous ad-hoc announcement, BayWa had a 47.53% stake in RWA. It was envisaged that these shares would go to RWA Handel and Vermögensverwaltung (RWA eGen) for the sum of €176 million, which already held nearly 50% of RWA.
RWA, in turn, remains a shareholder of BayWa. According to the Austrian conglomerate, this decision aims to contribute to stabilizing the long-standing German partner in a challenging phase. "RWA has benefited in its entrepreneurial development and especially in internationalization from the long-standing strategic alliance with BayWa," emphasized RWA CEO Johannes Schuster.
RWA's involvement in BayWa is through Raiffeisen Agrar Invest. RWA eGen and Leipnik-Lundenburger Invest AG hold the majority in this.
RWA cuts the ties
Following the completion of the share repurchase, RWA now plans to completely disentangle from BayWa, for example in the IT sector. This process is expected to take about two years. "We will define development and growth areas, expand them purposefully, and securely lead RWA as the umbrella organization of the warehouse cooperatives," highlighted Schuster.
In early April, BayWa reached a new financing concept and an updated restructuring agreement with its core banks and major shareholders. This allows the restructuring of the Munich-based agricultural trading group to continue. Additional financial needs identified for BayWa r.e, the subsidiary specializing in renewable energies, required a revision of the existing financing plan.