The Competition Bureau has reached an agreement with Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H) over its acquisition of GrainsConnect Canada, requiring the company to divest a Saskatchewan grain elevator.
In an announcement Friday, the Bureau said P&H has agreed to sell GrainsConnect’s grain elevator business in Reford, SK. to a buyer to be approved by the Commissioner of Competition. The sale will help ensure that farmers in the region “continue to benefit from competition when selling wheat and other grains.”
“Competition at the local level matters for Canadian farmers,” said Interim Commissioner of Competition Jeanne Pratt. “Competition helps ensure that farmers receive better prices and have more choice when selling their grain.”
P&H first announced plans in December 2025 to acquire GrainsConnect Canada in a deal reportedly valued at about $150 million. The proposed acquisition included elevators at Reford and Maymont, SK., Huxley and Vegreville, AB., as well as GrainsConnect’s 50% ownership stake in Fraser Grain Terminal in Surrey, B.C.
While agreeing to the settlement, P&H said in its own statement Friday that it strongly rejected the Bureau’s conclusions regarding competition in the Reford region. The company said its agreement was a practical decision aimed at avoiding lengthy regulatory delays rather than an admission that the transaction would harm competition.
P&H pointed to a 2022 Competition Tribunal ruling involving its acquisition of a grain elevator in Virden, MB., where the Tribunal sided with the company and rejected the Bureau’s proposed market definitions.
“P&H remains of the view that the competitive dynamics in the Reford, SK., region are consistent with the principles articulated by the Tribunal in Virden, including the presence of effective competition and farmers’ access to multiple viable marketing alternatives,” the P&H statement said.
The agreement, once registered with the Competition Tribunal, becomes legally binding and carries the force of a court order.
