Glencore Approaches Bunge About Takeover

Glencore has approached grain trader Bunge Ltd. about combining the companies, a deal that would give the Swiss miner a major presence in the U.S. agriculture market. 

Glencore said its agriculture unit informally approached Bunge “regarding a possible consensual business combination.” 

Glencore is a mining and commodity-trading powerhouse. U.S.-based Bunge, with $42.9 billion in sales last year, is among the biggest of the grain-trading giants that control the flow of crops from farmers’ fields to food plants and livestock operations. It is one of the world’s largest traders and processors of soybeans and corn. 

If Glencore acquires Bunge, it would vault Glencore into agriculture’s global elite and give it a major presence in the U.S.—a long-held goal of Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg. 

Bunge’s recent strategy has been to strike joint ventures and partnerships with smaller companies to run mills and processing plants more profitably. 

In a statement, Bunge said it is “committed to continuing to execute its global agri-foods strategy and pursuing opportunities for driving growth and value creation.”

Source: Wall Street Journal