1. Any person operating a public warehouse in Missouri under this chapter, who desires to discontinue the operation of a public warehouse, shall notify by first class mail all holders of warehouse receipts, all parties storing grain in the warehouse, and all parties with whom the warehouseman has executed deferred payment or deferred pricing agreements in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and by advertising in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the warehouse is situated, and the director of the state department of agriculture, at least thirty days prior to the date of his intention to discontinue the public grain warehouse business. The owners of the grain shall sell to the warehouseman or remove, or cause to be removed, their grain from the warehouse or the obligations may be assumed by a successor warehouseman before the termination of the license. In the case of a successor, producers or others may allow the original warehouseman to transfer the storage obligation to the successor. No assumption by a successor of any obligations of the predecessor warehouseman shall be valid unless the successor is duly licensed as required by this chapter prior to the assumption, and the depositor agrees to such assumption by the successor. Such assumption by a successor shall not relieve the predecessor warehouseman of the storage obligations in the event of default therein by the successor unless both the successor and terminating warehouseman have complied with all provisions of this section. If for any cause the grain is not sold to the warehouseman or removed from the warehouse or the obligation assumed by a successor, the warehouseman discontinuing business shall sell the grain at the best market price obtainable and deposit the funds with a bank authorized to do business in Missouri to be held for the account of the depositor and shall make a full detailed report of the same to the director. If and when the depositor, or holder of claim, appears and presents a valid claim to the bank for the funds so deposited, the bank shall deliver the funds to the claimant.

2. At the director’s discretion, a warehouse license may be deemed to be invalid upon the change of ownership, cessation of operations, change of partners in a partnership, change of corporate structure of a corporation or sale. Every licensed warehouseman shall immediately notify the department as to any such change and, when requested to do so by the director, shall, deliver his license and all unused warehouse receipts to the office of the department, together with a notarized statement accounting for all receipts and setting forth the arrangements made with depositors for final disposition of the grain in storage and for fulfilling the obligations of the retiring warehouseman. In the case of a successor, the successor shall apply for a new license and execute a successor’s agreement. When there is a change of ownership or cessation of operations, the director may cause an audit and examination to be made.