Winnipeg, Manitoba-Viterra CEO Mayo Schmidt said in a conference call with reporters on Sept. 9 that the company will pause to integrate the Australian company ABB Grain Ltd. before seeking new acquisitions. ABB shareholders on Sept. 9 voted in favor of Viterra’s A$1.6-billion (C$1.4 billion) shares-and-cash bid, and the deal was approved by Australia’s federal court on Sept. 10. The acquisition gives Viterra access to a Southern Hemisphere crop supply and to Southeast Asia, a key destination for ABB’s wheat and barley exports. Shareholders have until Sept. 18 to decide whether to accept options weighted toward cash or shares, Schmidt said. The company will have C$350 million to C$750 million in capital available for acquisitions, depending on which option of cash and shares ABB shareholders select. Viterra’s last major acquisition was in 2007 when it took over Agricore United, and Schmidt said the company needs to take time to integrate ABB into its operations. “There are areas of interest throughout Southeast Asia,” Schmidt told reporters. “There’s no shortage of opportunities. The key is the discipline to move methodically through them and of course act at the appropriate time.”
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