Bunge buys US agribusiness rival for $4.8bn

23 June 2008 11:29  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Bunge has agreed to buy US agricultural rival Corn Products International for $4.8bn (€3.1bn), the fertilizer and oilseed producer said on Monday.

 

The acquisition would expand Bunge’s production throughout the corn value chain, putting it in the business of finished corn products such as starches and sweeteners, it said.

 

Bunge said annual cost synergies and profit opportunities from the merger would be between $100m and $120m, while the company would be taking on about $414m of Corn Products’ net debt.

 

The combined company would have about 32,000 employees in 40 countries. Neither company expected the deal to result in closure of industrial facilities.

 

Corn Products would maintain its headquarters in Westchester, Illinois, while CEO Sam Scoot would join Bunge’s board of directors, said Bunge.

 

The deal comes at a time when increased demand from emerging economies has driven up the prices of agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn and soybeans.

 

($1 = €0.64)

By: Mark Watts
+44 20 8652 3214

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