The new owners of the Merit Functional Foods plant in Winnipeg say they do not plan to start it up again as a plant protein processing operation.
The state-of-the-art pea and canola processing facility, which opened in 2021, went into receivership in March 2023, with management blaming factors from higher raw materials costs and rising interest rates to the “risk appetite from lenders and/or investors drying up” and “commissioning of a novel product taking 12 times longer than promised.”
According to court documents filed by receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC recently “entered an asset sale purchase agreement” with an unnamed company registered in Manitoba covering the land, buildings, equipment, and other assets, and is now seeking the court’s approval to seal the deal.
Former Merit co-CEOs Ryan Bracken and Barry Tomiski have since emerged as the mystery buyers in question, with Bracken explaining in a LinkedIn post that the pea and canola protein processing equipment is being sold off by Carter Wilson Equipment Services. He added: “Looking forward to repurposing the Merit Functional Foods facility into a positive economic engine for Manitoba!”
Bracken told AgFunderNews: “At this point we are not making our plans for the facility public. More news will come at a later date.” But he added: “Our intent is not to start it back up again as a plant protein business.”
Further reading:
Receiver strikes deal with mystery buyer for Merit Functional Foods plant in Winnipeg
