Bunge's Acquisition Of Viterra Approved By China With Some Strings Attached

By Hallie Gu, Bloomberg China confirmed its approval of Bunge Global SA's takeover of rival Viterra, but outlined several conditions including the continued supply of key crops to the Asian nation at a "fair" price. The green light from Beijing, announced by Bunge on Friday, was the last major hurdle to the conclusion of the $8.2 billion deal. Bunge shares rose as much as 4.4 percent in New York on Monday, extending Friday's gain of 5.7 percent. Still, a statement from China's State Administration for Market Regulation outlined the large share of soybean, barley and rapeseed trade with one of the world's top buyers that the combined company will control, which risks limiting competition. Antitrust authorities asked that the company supply those crops to Chinese clients at what it called fair market prices and in a timely, reliable and sufficient manner. After the merger is finalized, it must also report its monthly sales to Chinese clients to the regulator each quarter and provide comparison with the average from 2021 to 2024. Bunge and Viterra committed to the conditions in a plan submitted to the Chinese regulator this month, SAMR said. To read the entire report click here.