FCStone buys Australian risk management firm

US commodity risk management firm FCStone Group has bought the risk management arm of Australian rural services provider Elders for an undisclosed sum.

Adelaide-based Elders Risk Management, which specialises in risk management for producers and users of agricultural commodities, will now be known as FCStone Australia and become the US company's first Australian office.

FCStone is looking to boost its capabilities in the world's major agricultural regions at a time when the agricultural business is becoming increasingly internationalised and interconnected. "Australia is a key part of that strategy, because it is one of the world's most important producers of a wide range of agricultural commodities," said Pete Anderson, chief executive of FCStone, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Elders decided to sell its risk management operations as a part of ongoing efforts to focus on core services. "Elders is refocusing on what it does best - that is, the provision of agricultural inputs, technical services and marketing options for our core agricultural markets," said John Molenaar, Elders Rural Services' head of Australian operations.

FCStone also has offices in Brazil, Canada, China and Ireland. The Elders group is a subsidiary of Futuris Corporation, Australia's largest agribusiness holding company.