News Agribusiness
Bunge world player in grains after purchase of Viterra
Grain merchants Bunge and Viterra are to merge. Bunge buys Viterra, based in Rotterdam, so that the company will continue to be called Bunge after the merger. The total sales of both companies are comparable to competitors ADM and Cargill.
Bunge's acquisition of Viterra is an $18 billion deal that has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The deal provides Viterra shareholders with approximately $65,6 billion in Bunge shares and approximately $6,2 billion in cash. Bunge also assumes $2 billion of Viterra's debt.
If the merger is approved by the financial authorities, Bunge will be closer to competitor ADM in terms of finances. That group reported sales of $102 billion in 2022. Combined sales of Bunge and Viterra exceeded $67 billion that year. However, it is expected that the financial authorities will view the deal with suspicion.
The hope is that the transaction will be completed in 2024. Then the new company will continue to operate under the Bunge name and Gregory Heckmann, currently Bunge's CEO, will continue to lead. David Mattiske, CEO of Viterra, will take the helm as co-CEO. The new company will be located in St. Louis, USA, but Viterra's headquarters in Rotterdam will remain in use.
Max van der Heyden
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