CPPIB Acquires 12% Bunge Stake Through Viterra Merger

The C$570 billion ($428.3 billion) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the C$211.1 billion ($158.8 billion) British Columbia Investment Management Corp. announced they are supporting the proposed merger of agribusinesses Viterra Inc. and Bunge Ltd. The CPPIB owns a 40% stake in Viterra, while BCI owns 10%.

Under the terms of the merger, Viterra shareholders would receive approximately 65.6 million shares of Bunge stock, with an aggregate value of approximately $6.2 billion, and approximately $2 billion in cash. As part of the transaction, Bunge would assume $9.8 billion of Viterra debt. Viterra shareholders would own 30% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis when deal closes and approximately 33% once the repurchase plan is completed.

For its 40% stake in Viterra, the CPPIB would receive an approximately 12% equity stake in the combined company and $800 million in cash when the deal closes. BCI would end up with an undisclosed minority stake and an undisclosed sum of cash.

Based in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri, Bunge is a major oilseed processor and global producer and supplier of specialty plant-based oils and fats. Viterra, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, but headquartered in the Netherlands after its 2013 purchase by Glencore plc, is a global agriculture network that connects producers to consumers with sustainable agricultural products.

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“Combining these two highly complementary companies will create an enhanced agribusiness that can provide an expanded product offering to end-customers, with an increased ability to innovate and promote sustainable practices in the global food supply,” Bruce Hogg, CPPIB’s managing director and head of sustainable energies, said in a release.

The merger is expected to close by the middle of 2024.

“In the context of climate change and the need for greater food security, we believe the proposed combination of Viterra and Bunge creates a compelling agricultural and food platform,” Lincoln Webb, executive vice president and global head of infrastructure and renewable resources at BCI, said in a release. “As a long-term responsible institutional investor, we look forward to the leading role the new company will take in the future of agriculture.”