Energy Trader Hartree Plans to Acquire the Owner of Volcafe

Hartree plans to acquire ED&F Man Commodities, including subsidiary Volcafe, the owner of Volcafe Specialty and Genuine Origin.

New York City-based energy and commodities trading firm Hartree Partners LP announced plans to acquire ED&F Man Commodities, the owner of green coffee trading giant Volcafe.

The acquisition includes ED&F Man’s three commodities business units: Volcafe (coffee); ED&F Man Liquid Products (molasses, animal feeds and fish oil); and ED&F Man Sugar. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Volcafe currently has sourcing and export operations in nearly all the world’s major coffee-producing regions. The green coffee and logistics company’s subsidiaries in the United States include importers Volcafe Specialty, founded in 2001, and Genuine Origin, founded in 2016.

Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

Hartree has already acquired the majority of Volcafe owner ED&F Man’s outstanding senior secured debt, according to an announcement from ED&F Man. The commodities giant restructured some £1.5 billion (current USD value $1.9 billion) in debt while raising a another £320 million (currently $406 million) in 2020. Citing “the current high commodity price environment” in 2022, ED&F Man announced yet another debt restructuring for its commodities businesses.

ED&F Man acquired the generations-old Swiss coffee trading company Volcafe in 2004. Volcafe’s coffee activities date back to 1851 under the name Volkart Brothers.

“This agreement marks the exciting first step in the expansion of Hartree’s global commodities platform into soft commodities,” Guy Merison, one of Hartree’s founding managers, said in the announcement. “We look forward to working with the ED&F Man Commodities team to leverage Hartree’s insights, capabilities and strong relationships, paired with ED&F Man Commodities’ globally recognized heritage in trading, for the benefit of all our clients and other stakeholders.”

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