US agribusiness Bunge Ltd. is near a deal to acquire Glencore Plc-backed Viterra, people familiar with the matter said, creating a giant capable of competing with the world’s biggest agricultural players.
Bunge shareholders would hold a significant majority in the deal, which is expected to be announced as early as Monday or Tuesday, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Roughly 70% of the payment would be made in Bunge stock, according to one of the people.
No final decision has been made and the timing or structure of the deal could still change, the people said. Bloomberg first reported the companies were in merger talks last month.
Representatives for Bunge, Glencore and Viterra declined to comment.
Combining the two will create a trader big enough to take on the industry’s elite: Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. and Chicago’s Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. The deal is the culmination of Bunge Chief Executive Officer Greg Heckman’s transformation of the once troubled St. Louis-based crop trader into a cash-rich oilseeds champion.
Read more: Bunge-Viterra Deal Would Create $25 Billion Rival to Cargill
For most of its existence, Bunge was primarily a crop merchant. Its expansion to the Americas saw it become the B in the storied ABCD quartet of trading houses that dominated agricultural markets, which also includes Louis-Dreyfus Co.
After a wrong-way bet on soybean prices resulted in a surprise quarterly loss in 2018, Heckman took the helm at Bunge, cutting costs, selling under-performing businesses and focusing on risk management. The company has also benefited from the market turmoil and volatility caused by the war in Ukraine, while a boom in renewable diesel has helped underpin profits.
The merger will offer a way for Glencore CEO Gary Nagle to unlock value from the company’s 49.99% stake in Viterra, which has limited synergies with its wider metals, mining and trading operations.
Glencore has flirted with the idea of a deal with Bunge on and off for years. In 2017, it approached Bunge about a friendly takeover, but was publicly rebuffed.
The deal also has the support of two of Canada’s biggest pension funds, which have a combined stake of 49.98% stake in Viterra, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg last month.
--With assistance from Dylan Griffiths, Thomas Biesheuvel and Matthew Monks.
