Status:      Not a Covered Transaction

Acquirer:            Fufeng Group (China)

Acquired:           Real property near Grand Forks, North Dakota

Value:                  Approximately $2.6 million                  

Industry Tags:    Agri-Industrial; Agriculture

In 2022, Fufeng USA, a subsidiary of Chinese company Fufeng Group, purchased 370 acres near Grand Forks, North Dakota, with the intention of developing the land to build a plant for wet corn milling and biofermentation. (See Alix Larsen, CFIUS requesting Fufeng USA give more information on corn mill development, Valley News Live, Sep. 1, 2022.) The land, which Fufeng USA purchased for approximately $2.6 million, is located 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, home to military drone technology and a space networking center. (Eamon Javers, Chinese Company’s Purchase of North Dakota Farmland Raises National Security Concerns in Washington, CNBC, July 1, 2022.) Fufeng USA submitted a declaration to CFIUS on July 27, 2022. (See Alix Larsen, CFIUS requesting Fufeng USA give more information on corn mill development, Valley News Live, Sep. 1, 2022.) North Dakota local news outlet Valley News Live obtained a copy of the CFIUS closing letter to that declaration filing, which stated that CFIUS determined on August 31, 2022 that it lacked sufficient information to assess the transaction and requested that the parties file a full notice. (Id.)  Based on the CFIUS closing letters to that subsequent notice filing, which was likewise obtained and published by Valley News Live, Fufeng USA submitted its notice on October 17, 2022, and CFIUS concluded that it lacked authority to review the transaction in December 2022. (See Stacie Van Dyke, Fufeng moving forward with corn milling plant in Grand Forks, Valley News Live, Dec. 13, 2022.)

On May 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury, the agency tasked with administering CFIUS, published a Proposed Rule that would expand CFIUS covered real estate transaction authority over real restate located with 99 miles of the Grand Forks Air Force Base and seven other facilities located in Arizona, California, Iowa, and North Dakota.