Olam International Limited announced June 9 that it acquired Alabama-based Brooks Peanut Company for $85 million.

Brooks is the sixth largest peanut sheller in the United States and the largest Alabama-based one, processing approximately 110,000 Farmer Stock Tons with an annual capacity at 175,000 FST. Founded in 1959, the company is based in Samson, Ala.

Olam’s acquisition of Brooks follows its acquisition of U.S. peanut sheller McCleskey Mills Inc. in December 2014. Company officials say this strengthens Olam’s market position as the third largest peanut sheller in the U.S. and helps expand its sourcing network into new areas in Alabama and Florida..

President of Olam’s global peanut business, Anupam Jindel, said, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to acquire Brooks’ procurement and processing capabilities, which complement our footprint in the US and significantly strengthen our network and product offerings to our customers and growers. Given our strengths in the US peanut industry and global marketing reach, we feel quite confident that we will be able to take Brooks to its full potential fairly quickly.”

Barrett Brooks, President of Brooks, said, “Olam has a significant global presence in the peanut industry and we are excited to be joining their team. I believe the combination of our modern processing assets and strong procurement franchise with Olam’s expertise in peanut processing, marketing and risk management will be a very successful one.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed this year.

Olam has been operating in the U.S. peanut industry since 2007 through its acquisition of Universal Blanchers, which specializes in toll blanching and high quality ingredient manufacturing of peanuts.

The US is today the lowest cost producer of peanuts and has the acreage and resources to expand production. The US peanut industry has an evolved market structure and is advanced in its seed technology, which helps to keep the industry very competitive. A steady rise in production and exports is expected in the future to meet the increased demand in emerging markets such as China and India, according to an Olam statement.