Multinational food processing and retailing company Associated British Foods swallowed SA’s biggest sugar industry player, Illovo, in May last year. The move by the British group (which, as it happens, owns cheap ‘n chic Primark) was part of a scramble for Sub-Saharan African agricultural assets. Crookes Brothers, another JSElisted player now stands out as another highly attractive potential target.

The stage for an eventual acquisition of Crookes could already be set thanks to the involvement of African agriculture-focused UK private equity firm SilverStreet Capital as the key shareholder through its Silverlands (SA) Plantations investment vehicle. As with all private equity firms, SilverStreet will exit at some point…http://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/26851-crookes-brothers-might-be-ripe-for-the-picking