Glencore given nod for Viterra takeover deal
SHAREHOLDERS of Canadian grain giant Viterra have voted in favour of Glencore’s $5.9bn (£3.8bn) takeover.
An overwhelming 99.8 per cent agreed to the friendly takeover by the Swiss commodities company.
Glencore, which is also looking to gain acceptance for a mega merger with miner Xstrata, still requires a green light from regulators.
Viterra owns the biggest share of Western Canada’s grain storage and farm supply outlets and huge grain storage facilities in Australia.
The acquisition would bring Glencore into the big leagues of agriculture. Currently this is dominated by four firms – Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Corp, the so-called ABCD quartet of the industry.
Chris Mahoney, director of agricultural products of Glencore, said: “We look forward to becoming part of the agriculture industry in Western Canada and to contributing to the expansion of the grains and oil seeds sector in those communities now served by Viterra, in Canada, Australia and elsewhere.”
Glencore’s move comes in one of the busiest merger and acquisition periods for agriculture since the late 1990s as improving diets and incomes in countries like China and India stoke interest in grain companies.
Japanese trading house Marubeni on Tuesday swooped in to buy US based Gavilon Group for $3.6bn.