CJ CheilJedang and ADM to Form New Joint Venture to Strengthen Amino Acid Production and Supply Chains

The partners aim to improve cost competitiveness by combining CJ’s fermentation technology with ADM’s manufacturing footprint and feedstock supply.

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• Proposed joint venture will manufacture and market amino acids critical to the livestock industry, supporting U.S. production, strengthening the global supply chain and enhancing U.S. food security
• New company will benefit customers by creating a reliable, long-term source of amino acids amid a highly competitive environment
• Joint venture will include CJ facilities in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Piracicaba, Brazil, and ADM amino-acid facility in Decatur, Illinois
• CJ will license IP related to feed-grade amino acids for use by new joint venture
• JV to be majority owned by CJ

CHICAGO & SEOUL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CJ CheilJedang (CJ, KRX: 097950), a global food and biotech company that owns a leading animal nutrition business (known as CJ Bio), and ADM (NYSE: ADM), a global leader in innovative solutions from nature, have agreed to form a new joint venture to secure a reliable, long-term source of feed-grade amino acids critical to the livestock industry, strengthening U.S. production, global supply chain resilience and U.S. food security.

“By combining CJ’s industry-leading fermentation technology to produce amino acids for animal nutrition and technical marketing with ADM’s U.S. manufacturing footprint and strong feedstock supply, the joint venture is positioned to seek enhanced cost competitiveness and support stable domestic production for North America,” said Lance Haeryong Choi, Senior Vice President of CJ CheilJedang. “Together, CJ and ADM will help to strengthen global food security and supply chain resilience as well as supporting American communities and manufacturing jobs.”

“Customers know that challenging global market conditions are putting continued U.S. domestic production of feed-grade amino acids, particularly lysine, at risk,” said Kris Lutt, ADM’s vice president of Innovation and Growth. “This joint venture will strengthen U.S. production, creating a more reliable U.S. source of supply by bringing together the right assets, products and capabilities to support continued production in a highly competitive environment. Recent decisions by the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission to eliminate unfair trade practices affecting U.S. imports of lysine by China give us even greater confidence that this is the right step. ADM will continue to use its global fermentation capacity and expertise to meet customer needs and as a platform for growth as we explore new ways to serve food, feed and industrial markets through precision fermentation.”

The new joint venture will develop, manufacture and market fermentation-derived amino acids by bringing together:

• CJ’s fermentation production facilities in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Piracicaba, Brazil
• ADM’s Decatur, Illinois, feed-grade amino acid plant
• CJ’s Mexico, Brazil and U.S. sales offices
• Via license, CJ’s intellectual property related to feed-grade amino acids for use by the joint venture within North and South America

CJ and ADM will give the JV exclusive rights to manufacture and sell feed-grade amino acids in the Americas.

CJ will be the majority owner of the joint venture.

CJ will retain ownership of its intellectual property and its global fermentation businesses outside the scope of the joint venture.

ADM’s other Decatur operations and its other global fermentation assets are not included in the transaction.

The launch date for the proposed joint venture is subject to customary closing activities as well as regulatory approvals.

About CJ CheilJedang

CJ CheilJedang is a South Korea-based food & biotech company operating globally. Founded in 1953 as the first Korean sugar manufacturer, it is now leading the global food industry with its renowned bibigo™ K-food products. It also operates an advanced green bio business known as CJ BIO, providing feed-grade amino acids under the BESTAMINO™ brand and food taste solutions made by its cutting-edge, fermentation-based bioengineering technologies. CJ CheilJedang is part of CJ Group, an international company in the fields of Food & Food Services, Bio & Pharma, Entertainment & Media, and Retail & Logistics. For more information, visit https://www.cj.co.kr/en.

About ADM

ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life. We’re an essential global agricultural supply chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities. We’re a premier human and animal nutrition provider, offering one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of ingredients and solutions from nature. We’re a trailblazer in health and well-being, with an industry-leading range of products for consumers looking for new ways to live healthier lives. We’re a cutting-edge innovator, guiding the way to a future of new bio-based consumer and industrial solutions. And we're leading in business-driven sustainability efforts that support a strong agricultural sector, resilient supply chains, and a vast and growing bioeconomy. Around the globe, our expertise and innovation are meeting critical needs from harvest to home. Learn more at www.adm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Regarding ADM

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and may include words such as "expect," "plan," "intend," "will," and other words and terms of similar meaning. Statements regarding the proposed joint venture and its business and operations, as well as the Company's business and actions, are subject to significant risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including those described in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as may be updated in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Forward-Looking Statements Regarding CJ CheilJedang

This release may contain forward-looking statements regarding CJ’s business and the proposed joint venture. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. CJ undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

Source: ADM

Source: Corporate release

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261002828242/en/

Media Contacts
CJ CheilJedang
Geeyo Bae
geeyo.bae@cj.net

ADM
Jackie Anderson
media@adm.com
312-634-8484

Source: ADM

Key Terms

lysine technical

An essential amino acid that organisms use as a building block for proteins; humans and many animals cannot make lysine and must obtain it from food or supplements. It helps support growth, tissue repair and certain metabolic processes, is commonly added to animal feed and dietary supplements, and is produced industrially (usually by microbial fermentation) for use in food, feed and pharmaceutical products.

precision fermentation technical

Precision fermentation uses edited microbes (like yeast or bacteria) as tiny, programmable factories to produce a single, specific ingredient—such as a protein, enzyme or flavor—rather than making whole foods. Think of it like coding a vending machine to dispense one exact product on demand. For investors, it matters because it can cut production costs, speed up scale-up, reduce reliance on traditional agriculture or chemical synthesis, and create new, high-margin products that can reshape markets and regulatory pathways.