MSU Argentina

MSU

Founders	Manuel Santos Uribelarrea Balcarce Manuel Santos de Uribelarrea Duhau
Headquarters	Buenos Aires,   ARG Argentina
Key people	Manuel Santos Uribelarrea Balcarce (CEO)
Website	msu.com.ar msuenergy.com msugreenenergy.com

MSU Argentina is an Argentine business conglomerate with operations in the agricultural, agro-industrial, and energy sectors. It is composed of three independent companies: MSU Agro, dedicated to agricultural production; MSU Energy, an electricity producer; and MSU Green Energy, focused on renewable energy. ^{[1] [2]}

History and Development

The Uribelarrea family comes from a long tradition in agricultural activity in Argentina, dating back to 1860. ^[3]

In 1978, Manuel Santos de Uribelarrea Duhau took over the management of his family's fields in Villa Cañás, in the province of Santa Fe, focusing on grain production, aiming to improve yields and soil conservation. He introduced the adoption of conservation tillage, crop rotation, integrated soil management, nutrient replenishment, direct seeding, and genetically modified crops, which allowed for a significant boost in productivity while considerably reducing the use of agrochemicals. ^{[1] [4]}

In 1998, Manuel Santos Uribelarrea Balcarce (son of Manuel Santos de Uribelarrea Duhau) founded a new company focused on large-scale agricultural production on both owned and leased lands. As a joint initiative between father and son, they named the company after their initials: MSU. ^[5]

Since its inception, the company continued with the adoption of technology applied to production, such as direct seeding, precision agriculture, and the use of genetically modified seeds. ^[6] MSU quickly expanded across various regions in Argentina, as well as in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. ^{[7] [8]}

In 2007, they launched an investment fund aimed at large international institutional investors, focused on the purchase of land in the region, covering the main agricultural areas of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. ^[1] With the growth experienced in its operations and in order to improve the company's debt profile, in 2013, it entered the capital markets to obtain long-term financing through the issuance of Negotiable Obligations, under the regulation of the National Securities Commission. ^[9]

In 2013, the first forays into the energy industry were made with the evaluation of corn ethanol production projects. ^[10]

In 2016, the group made its first investment in energy, with the launch of three open-cycle thermoelectric plants, built by General Electric. ^[11] These plants, located in General Rojo and Barker in the Buenos Aires Province, and Villa María in the province of Córdoba, had an installed capacity of 150 MW each, with long-term energy supply contracts signed with Cammesa. ^[12] The plants have long-term maintenance contracts with General Electric. ^[13]

In 2020, the three plants will increase their capacity and generation efficiency with their expansion and transformation into combined cycles, reaching a total power of 750 MW. ^{[14] [15]}

In 2022, MSU Green Energy was created, focused on the development of renewable energies. The group's renewable energy generation division currently has 8 parks, of which 2 are in commercial operation, 3 are expected to begin operations by the end of 2024, and the remaining 3 are scheduled to start in mid-2025. ^[16]

It has strategic clients such as Volkswagen ^[17] , Dow, and Air Liquide, ^[18] to which it supplies solar energy. ^[19]

Structure

MSU Argentina is composed of three business units organized into independent companies.

• MSU Agro: Focuses on large-scale agricultural production across a portfolio of owned and leased lands. It operates in the province of Buenos Aires, southern Santa Fe, southern Córdoba, northeastern La Pampa, Entre Ríos, northeastern Santiago del Estero, and southwestern Chaco. ^[20] They produce wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, sunflower, and peanuts. ^[21] The company annually plants around 220,000 hectares in Argentina, with a production of over one million tons of grain. ^[22] In addition to grain production, the company manages an investment fund with agricultural assets in Brazil, in the state of Goiás. ^[23] The company's latest step was to join the agri-food chain, with the construction of one of the largest peanut processing plants to supply the European industrial consumer market. ^{[24] [25] [26]}
• MSU Energy: Dedicated to electricity generation, the company operates three combined-cycle thermoelectric plants, with a total capacity exceeding 750 MW. ^[27]
• MSU Green Energy: Dedicated to the generation of renewable electricity, it has 8 solar parks at various stages of construction and operation, along with a pipeline of 4 additional projects, with a total generation capacity of 835 MW. ^{[28] [29]}

References

1. "What is MSU? One of the major Argentine agricultural groups that, without many assets except for experience, produces around 800,000 tons annually". Bichos de Campo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
2. "MSU Agro, one of the largest agricultural groups, will invest US$90 million to process peanuts". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
3. "Manuel Santos Uribelarrea and his bet on renewable energy". Reporte Asia (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
4. "Manuel Santos de Uribelarrea". Fundación Konex (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
5. "MSU: A company of agriculture and land with Mercosur scale". InfoCampo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
6. "The producer innovated in direct agribusiness and now bets on energy". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
7. "CONICET Digital document" (PDF). CONICET (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
8. "SSRN Paper on the topic of agricultural economics". SSRN (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
9. "MSU Agro, one of the largest agricultural groups, will invest US$90 million to process peanuts". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
10. "MSU Energy issued a bond for 2023 worth US$250 million". Urgente 24 (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
11. "Official Bulletin Document". Boletín Oficial (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
12. "Our Power Plants". MSU Energy (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
13. "MSU Energy converts two thermoelectric plants to combined cycle". Energía Online (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
14. "Villa María: MSU Energy continues with the expansion of its plant". Villa María Vivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
15. "MSU Energy completed works in Barker and finished the combined cycle in its three plants". Puntal (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
16. "The company that transitioned from agriculture to energy generation". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
17. "Solar energy: Volkswagen and MSU sign a supply contract". El Cronista (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
18. "Pampa del Infierno Solar Park obtained commercial approval to operate". Diario Norte (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
19. "MSU Green Energy obtained commercial approval for its Pampa del Infierno solar park". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
20. "MSU improves its credit rating". El Cronista (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
21. "MSU Agro invests in peanut production in Rufino". Reporte Asia (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
22. "Manuel Santos Uribelarrea: Argentina and its opportunities". Reporte Asia (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
23. "MSU bond placement document" (PDF). BACS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
24. "They are building one of the largest peanut processing plants in the country in Rufino". ExpoAgro (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
25. "MSU S.A." Modo Agrario (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
26. "Innovation and cooperation: BASF promotes sustainable agriculture". BASF (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
27. "MSU Energy's successful orations in the local market". El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
28. "Solar energy: Volkswagen and MSU sign a supply contract". El Cronista (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
29. "The company that transitioned from agriculture to energy generation". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2025.