Grain giants Bunge and Viterra merger approved by EU

The EU Commission has approved the multibillion pound acquisition of Viterra, formerly known as Glencore Agriculture, by US based agri-business Bunge, subject to conditions.

The proposed merger was first announced by the two major grain traders in July 2023.

But, due to the size of the businesses, the deal faced has checks by regulators to ensure it does not lead to reduced competition within the industry.

An investigation was carried out by the commission to discover what impact the deal would have on European oilseeds markets.

See also: Global grain traders Bunge and Viterra agree to merge

The commission found it would have resulted in a “considerable concentration” of processing capacity for oilseeds in Central Europe owned by the same entity, which could have a negative impact for farmers and customers.

Following this assessment, the companies agreed to divest all oilseed businesses in Hungary and Poland owned by Viterra.

This move was welcomed by the commission which has ruled that, following this adjustment, the merger will no longer raise competition concerns.

A review into the merger was also carried out earlier this year by the Canadian Competition Bureau.

It found localised competition concerns around canola sales and raised further concerns around Bunge’s minority stake in major grain export business, G3 Canada.

But the review found no specific concerns related to grain purchasing throughout most of Canada, port terminal operations, meal sales, and specialty oil products.