BayWa Agrees to Sell Cefetra to First Dutch, Cutting Over €650 Million of Bank Debt

BayWa Agrees to Sell Cefetra to First Dutch, Cutting Over €650 Million of Bank Debt

(IN BRIEF) BayWa AG has agreed to sell Cefetra to Peter Goedvolk’s First Dutch, subject to regulatory approval, trimming its bank debt by over €650 million. Combined with a €500 million liability reduction from Raiffeisen Ware Austria shares earlier in 2025, BayWa will cut more than €1.1 billion of debt this year. The move advances BayWa’s strategy to streamline operations, divest non-core assets, and reinforce liquidity in its four main business areas. First Dutch gains a leader in global agricultural-commodities supply chains, while BayWa accelerates its transformation and refocuses on core divisions.

(PRESS RELEASE) MUNICH, 12-Jun-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — BayWa AG has signed an agreement to sell its subsidiary Cefetra to Dutch entrepreneur Peter Goedvolk, Chairman of First Dutch, pending customary antitrust approvals. This transaction will reduce BayWa’s bank debt by over €650 million—approximately €500 million through Cefetra’s deconsolidation—and follows the recent sale of BayWa’s stake in Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG, which cut liabilities by around €500 million in early May. Collectively, these divestments will lower BayWa’s debt by more than €1.1 billion in 2025.

This divestiture is a cornerstone of BayWa’s comprehensive transformation strategy, which focuses on streamlining the organization, implementing cost-saving initiatives, and divesting non-core international holdings. The company will continue to prioritize its four core divisions—Agriculture, Building Materials, Heating & Mobility, and Agricultural Equipment—with the proceeds strengthening operational liquidity and further deleveraging the balance sheet.

Peter Goedvolk commented, “First Dutch proudly welcomes Cefetra into our global supply-chain family. With our extensive network spanning over 1,500 ports and headquartered in Rotterdam, we’re ideally positioned to enhance Cefetra’s reach in agricultural commodities, biofuels, energy, gas, chemicals, and renewables.”

BayWa CEO Dr Frank Hiller added, “This sale underscores our commitment to refocus on BayWa’s core businesses. We appreciate the trust placed in us by our financial partners and look forward to accelerating growth in our strategic sectors.”

Michael Baur, BayWa’s Chief Restructuring Officer, remarked, “Signing the Cefetra divestment marks another pivotal milestone, with closing anticipated in Q3 2025. Alongside the RWA share sale, this deal represents significant structural progress in our ongoing transformation.”

About Cefetra

The Dutch Cefetra Group is a global supplier of agricultural raw materials for the animal nutrition, food additive and energy industries. The Group comprises 17 companies operating in over 35 locations in Europe and beyond, close to both source and target markets. With a broad and growing product portfolio and in-depth market knowledge, the Cefetra Group works closely with suppliers, customers and farmers to provide reliable and responsible sourcing solutions. The Group includes established brands such as Cefetra, Royal Ingredients Group, Tracomex, Sedaco, Premium Crops and Brüning. It aims to build more sustainable supply chains by improving traceability and promoting responsible practices in close cooperation with its partners along the entire value chain.

About First Dutch

With a turnover of €4 billion in 2024 and 3,000 employees, First Dutch is a cutting-edge global supply chain solutions provider and already a leader in (bio)fuels, energy, gas, chemicals and renewables. First Dutch operates according to the latest standards in sustainability and efficiency. With its group of companies, First Dutch is active in over 1,500 ports worldwide and can therefore support its customers’ global supply chains efficiently and sustainably. Its roots lie in the Rotterdam Delta, where a unique economic complex has developed. Rotterdam is also the epicentre of the energy transition and the global hub for raw materials.

About BayWa AG

BayWa AG is a modern trading company operating in the Agriculture, Heating, Mobility, Agricultural Equipment and Building Materials business sectors. With its products and services, it helps its customers to feed people well, create living spaces for generations and provide mobility and heat exactly where they are needed. Since 1923, the company has stood for security of supply – especially in rural areas. Today, BayWa AG, headquartered in Munich, is represented at around 400 locations and employs around 8,000 people. Further information can be found at: www.baywa.com/presse.

Media Contacts:

BayWa AG
Dr Frank Herkenhoff
Phone: +49 89 9222 3680
E-mail: frank.herkenhoff@baywa.de

Cefetra Group:
Miranda Janse
janse@cefetra.com
06-83526640

First Dutch:
Leendert Bikker
leendert@bikker.com

SOURCE: BayWa AG