Louis Dreyfus agrees to acquire Brazilian instant coffee exporter Cacique

LDC said the acquisition will accelerate efforts to scale its instant coffee business in Brazil | Photo credit: Milo Miloezger

Netherlands-based Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has signed a binding agreement to fully acquire Brazilian instant coffee exporter Cacique for an undisclosed sum. 
 

Cacique operates two production facilities in Brazil and has a portfolio of 65 instant coffee products, which it exports to more than 70 markets globally. 

Its larger production site in Londrina has the capacity to process 70 tons of soluble coffee powder, agglomerated and freeze-dried coffee, coffee extract and coffee oil daily. The second site in Linhares, which opened in 2021, produces an average of 12,000 tons of soluble coffee per year. 

Cacique currently employs approximately 1,100 staff. 

The agreement comes seven years after Cacique sold several of its most prominent instant coffee brands, including Pelé, Graníssimo and Tropical, to Amsterdam-based coffee and tea business JDE Peet’s.  

LDC said the acquisition will accelerate efforts to scale its instant coffee business in Brazil, where it is currently expanding operations at its coffee mill in Minas Gerais.  

In October 2023, the green coffee and agri-commodity trader announced new investment in the construction of a freeze-dried instant coffee plant in Binh Duong, Vietnam, as part of a joint venture with Polish private label coffee manufacturer Instanta. 

“This development is aligned with LDC’s strategy to diversify revenue streams through value-added product lines – in this case, by accelerating the scale-up of LDC’s soluble coffee business, recently initiated in Vietnam with its iLD Coffee Vietnam joint venture freeze-dried soluble coffee operation, to position LDC among the world’s largest soluble coffee producers,” said Michael Gelchie, CEO, LDC. 

In March 2023, LDC cited the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, inflation and climate extremes as negatively impacting its 2023 revenues. The group reported a 15% fall in sales in the 12 months ending 31 December 2023 to $50.6bn alongside a 5% decline in EBITDA to $2.2bn.