U.S. trader Bunge to buy Glencore-backed Viterra for US$8.2B

U.S. agribusiness Bunge agreed to buy Glencore Plc-backed Viterra for US$8.2 billion in stock and cash, creating a trading giant capable of competing with the world's biggest agricultural players.

Viterra shareholders will eventually own about 30 per cent of the combined business after the transaction, the companies said in a joint statement. Roughly 75 per cent of the payment would be made in Bunge stock, and another 25 per cent, or US$2 billion, in cash. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of Bunge and Viterra. 

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. 

Bunge will assume US$9.8 billion of Viterra debt. It also plans to repurchase US$2 billion of its own stock. After the buyback, Viterra shareholders will own 33 per cent of the merged company.