The European Commission (EC) has approved the proposed merger of Viterra Ltd. and Bunge Global SA following an agreement that Viterra’s oilseed business in Hungary and Poland will be divested, along with a number of logistical assets linked to those operations.
Under the EU Merger Regulations, the EC’s investigation found that the merger as initially proposed would have resulted in a considerable concentration of oilseed processing capacity in Central Europe, where both parties are active across the whole supply chain, with potential negative effects on farmers and downstream customers.
The EC said the commitments made by Viterra and Bunge “fully address the competition concerns…by removing the horizontal overlaps and vertical links between the parties’ oilseed businesses in the concerned territories.”
“We had concerns that the transaction could affect the supply chains of rapeseed and sunflower seed in Central Europe, with potential ramifications across the food, feed, and biofuel industries,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President in charge of competition policy. “The divestiture of Viterra’s entire oilseeds business in Hungary and Poland will preserve competition in these markets.”
Bunge shareholders approved the company’s $8.2 billion acquisition of Viterra last fall (GM Oct. 6, 2023). The transaction has been approved by regulators in Brazil (GM May 17, p. 27) and Australia (GM Dec. 22, 2023), but Canada’s Competition Bureau in April concluded that the deal is likely to result in “substantial anti-competitive effects” and a “significant loss of rivalry” between Viterra and Bunge in agricultural markets in Canada (GM April 26, p. 1).
Bunge in April said Canada’s “localized concerns” are “misplaced” and that the company “looks forward to working with Transport Canada and the Bureau to provide further information addressing these points.” The agribusiness company said in April that it expects the transaction to close in the middle of this year.