Bedford-based milling business European Oat Millers has been acquired by Canadian agricultural giant Richardson International.

Described as the second-largest oat miller in Europe, European Oat Millers produces products including oat flakes, flour and groats, as well as wheat and barley flakes and extruded ingredients and products.

European Oat Millers, which was founded by Bill and David Jordan who also created the Jordans Cereals business, sells to UK customers and exports to continental Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

“My brother and I are very proud of the business we have successfully grown over the past three decades,” said Bill Jordan. “We are pleased to be passing it on to a similar family-owned business that shares both our vision for growth and our core values and we look forward to watching the business evolve.”

Richardson International said it would use the acquisition to build a presence in the European market and boost its ability to compete globally.

“We are excited to build on our success in value-added processing and extend our food manufacturing footprint to a new geography,” said Richardson International CEO and president Curt Vossen.

Richardson entered the oat milling business in 2013 with the acquisition of three oat processing plants in Canada and one in the US. The business describes itself as “a worldwide handler and merchandiser of major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and a vertically-integrated processor and manufacturer of oats and canola-based products”.

The acquisition completed earlier this month.