Global energy and commodities trader Hartree Partners is in talks to acquire French agro-industrial firm Touton, which trades nearly 10% of the world’s cocoa. The cocoa trade is experiencing a shakeup due to problems in West Africa, pushing prices to historic highs. Adverse weather and disease in Ivory Coast and Ghana led to poor cocoa harvests, causing prices to more than double. Touton posted a net profit of 130 million euros in the year to March 2024, up from 17 million euros the year before. Hartree’s potential acquisition of Touton would solidify its expansion into soft commodities.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Hartree in talks to buy major cocoa trader Touton, sources say