The European Commission said Thursday it has approved a $34 billion merger between Bunge and Viterra. These two companies want to create one of the world's largest agricultural trading companies to compete more strongly with market leaders, including: Archer-Daniels-Midland or Cargill.
Antitrust action of the European Commission
However, in the EC's announcement, consent to the merger is conditional on the fulfillment of previous obligations by both companies. Indeed, the Commission's investigation showed that the acquisition, as originally notified, would restrict competition in the markets for oilseeds and related products, including oilseed meals intended for feed, crude oilseed oils and refined oilseed oils intended for human or human consumption. for the production of biodiesel. In particular, the transaction would have a negative impact on competition in Central Europe, where both parties operate throughout the supply chain. Therefore, the EC concluded that the transaction would lead to a significant concentration of oilseed processing capacity in Central Europe, which would have potentially negative consequences for farmers and downstream customers.
The proposed remedies to address the Commission's concerns included the divestiture of Viterra's entire oilseeds business in Hungary and Poland and a number of logistics services. The implementation of these obligations will now be monitored by an independent entity.
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Bunge will sell oil mills in Poland and Hungary. To get EU approval for the merger with Viterra
