ADM-Bunge Deal Would Create Cargill-Sized Agribusiness Giant
- ADM said to have sought talks with Bunge about a merger
- Glencore previously made an approach about a deal with Bunge
A worker inspects wheat grain at a grain storage facility, operated by Bunge Ltd.
Photographer: Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg
The world of agricultural-commodity trading could be upended with the merger of two of its biggest names. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. has sought deal talks with Bunge Ltd., a person briefed on the matter said at the weekend. That’s less than a year after Glencore Plc approached Bunge about a deal.
While they’re not exactly household names, ADM and Bunge have been around for 116 years and 200 years respectively and are among the very largest buyers and sellers of grains and other crops. But both companies do a lot more than that: they crush soybeans, produce vegetable oil and supply biofuels -- ADM even has a unit that manufacturers flavors. So, on paper at least, a combined ADM-Bunge would be both a commodity-trading giant, with an international network of barges and marine terminals, and a major industrial enterprise with factories and refineries.