Company Cargill Inc announced that it intends to buy chocolate business of its competitor Archer Daniels Midland Co for $440 million plan to expand production capacity in North America.

The agreement includes six production plants - three in North America and three in Europe, but excludes the processing plant cocoa, owned by ADM.

After the acquisition of enterprises ADM number of enterprises Cargill in North America will be doubled, and will increase significantly in Europe, where the company has seven factories.

Approximately 700 employees are going to go from Cargill ADM as part of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

ADM will close the plant for processing cocoa Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which will lead to the elimination of about 90 jobs.

In order to feel the effects of this transaction, the markets will take time.

Price $440 million is not significant for the agreement of two of the four giants of the agriculture sector (ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Dreyfus), but this is part of an important trend in which these companies are changing their positions in various commodity sectors.

Cargill has long focused attention on the fact that chocolate business in the world offers great opportunities. ADM, on the other hand, acquired the company for the production of ingredients and seems determined relative to the expansion of this business. ADM in July announced that it will pay an estimated $3.1 billion to get Wild Flavors, Swiss manufacturer of special components and food additives.

At the end of last year, market participants were convinced that Cargill will buy all the cocoa-related company ADM. ADM for quite a long time wanted to get rid of them, and the agreement was almost ready. But now ADM changed his mind and decided that its future is in the ingredients, including cocoa.