5 Things to Know About the ‘Historic Merger’ of Co-Alliance and Ceres Solutions

Matt Hopkins By Matt Hopkins|January 17, 2024

Just when it seemed like consolidation within the CropLife 100 was starting to slow, a mega-deal was recently announced between two Indiana-based agriculture and energy cooperatives. Last week, the boards and memberships of Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance officially voted to approve a merger. The cooperatives had spent the latter part of 2023 in a due diligence period to better understand the potential synergies of a combined organization.

“After considerable analysis, we believe this merger will provide a tremendous opportunity for our 20,000 farmer-owners. This will allow our team to provide more robust service offerings, greater investments in our assets and an unmatched customer experience,” said Jeff Troike, CEO of Ceres Solutions, in November. “Together we know there will be great synergies from this historic merger with the Co-Alliance team.”

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Kevin Still, CEO of Co-Alliance, added: “The combined strength and legacy of success of Ceres and Co-Alliance creates a powerful partner for our farmer-owners and customers, helping them grow future generations. We are excited about this dynamic combination and what it means for the strength and future of the cooperative system.”

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Here are five things to know about the deal:

  • New Name. The company will be named Keystone Cooperative, Inc., effective March 1, 2024.
  • Headquarters: Keystone Cooperative will be headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, which is the current home of C0-Alliance.
  • States Served: Keystone Cooperative will serve customers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. It will have four core divisions, including Energy, Agronomy, Grain, and Swine & Animal Nutrition. Keystone will employ over 1,700 dedicated team members throughout the states served, with expected annual revenue of $3 billion.
  • Executive Team. The boards have chosen Kevin Still, current President & CEO of Co-Alliance, to be the President & CEO of Keystone Cooperative. Ceres Solutions current CEO Jeff Troike will become the Executive Vice President of Keystone Cooperative, alongside Co-Alliance’s current Executive Vice President, Scott Logue.
  • CropLife 100 Ranking. The combining of Ceres Solutions (No. 13) and Co-Alliance (No. 10) will undoubtedly position the newly formed cooperative even higher on the 2024 ranking of the CropLife 100. “Based upon their combined revenues for 2023, Keystone would rank at No. 8 in the CropLife 100 with overall ag retail sales of more than $1 billion,” says CropLife Editor Eric Sfiligoj.

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Matt Hopkins is Senior Online Editor for the Agribusiness Group at Meister Media Worldwide (MMW), including such brands as CropLife, CropLife IRON, AgriBusiness Global, Global Agtech Initiative, and Cotton Grower. He is responsible for managing an array of digital products, including newsletters, websites, video, and social media. Hopkins originally joined MMW in 1994 as an editor for Greenhouse Grower magazine before transitioning to Business Manager of its MeisterPro division. He has a Communications Degree from Cleveland State University. See all author stories here.

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