ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US — One of the most significant agribusiness mergers in recent memory has been consummated as Bunge Global SA and Viterra Ltd. announced the completion of the $8.2 billion deal on July 2.

The merger, which took more than two years to complete, creates one of the world’s largest agribusiness firms, moving it closer in size and scope to Cargill and ADM.

Gregory Heckman, chief executive officer of Bunge, who took over as leader of the company in 2019, at a time when it was struggling as a takeover target with sagging profits, said the merger accelerates Bunge’s strategy “to connect farmers to consumers to deliver essential food, feed and fuel to the world.”

“Today is a defining moment for our company and our global team as we complete this transformative business combination,” Heckman said. “I’m grateful to our colleagues whose energy, collaboration and commitment brought us to this milestone.

“Now, we begin the exciting work of bringing our teams and operations together, uniting our strengths to realize the full potential of this combination.”

The companies had hoped to have the deal completed in 2024, but the regulatory approval process took longer than expected. The merger was approved last week by China, which was the last regulatory hurdle Bunge needed to clear to finalize the deal after gaining conditional approvals from regulators in Canada, the European Union and other markets.

Bunge, the world’s largest oilseed processor, said merging with Viterra augments its existing footprint with significant grain and softseed handling capacity, while expanding origination capabilities in key regions and crops where Bunge is underrepresented. The combined company will be diversified across the key export origins, as well as major crush destinations.

Bunge said it will increase its already leading position as a soybean and corn exporter in South America as Viterra currently ranks among the largest exporters of those crops in Brazil.

The merger, which was first announced in June 2023, involves two of the world’s largest grain handlers. The combined company owns and operates more than 300 grain storage facilities, more than 40 port terminals and more than 155 processing, refining and packaging facilities, according to a Bunge fact sheet about the merger. Bunge now will have a presence in more than 50 countries and employ more than 37,000 people.

Viterra operates more than 300 grain and oilseed processing facilities in more than 40 countries, while Bunge operates 56 oilseed crushing plants with 57 million tonnes of capacity, 26 port terminals, 47 oil refineries and 17 grain processing facilities.

While officials did not provide the total global grain storage capacity of the combined companies, Viterra was listed in Sosland Publishing’s 2025 Grain & Milling Annual as having 355.7 million bushels of capacity in North America. Bunge was listed at 70.5 million, but it recently sold its corn milling business to Grain Craft, so that number has dropped.

With the merger, the combined total would be around 400 million bushels, ranking it third ahead of Cargill but behind ADM and CHS Inc.

Viterra also has more than 10 million tonnes of grain storage capacity in Australia.

Already controlling an estimated 90% of the global grain trade before the merger, the so-called ABCD companies of agribusiness (ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus), will increase their market share even more.

Bunge, like most multinational agribusiness companies, has struggled over the last several years in what Heckman recently described as “a difficult global environment.”

In its earnings report in February, Bunge cited weak oilseed processing margins — particularly in South America — as weighing on its Agribusiness segment during the fourth quarter, dragging down quarterly earnings and contributing to a nearly 50% drop in full-year net income for the St. Louis, Missouri-based company in fiscal 2024. In the first quarter of this year, net income fell 18% to $201 million, equal to $1.48 per share on the common stock, from $244 million, or $1.68 per share, a year earlier.

Heckman will be the CEO of the merged company; John Neppl will remain as Bunge’s chief financial officer. David Mattiske, CEO of Viterra, joins the Bunge executive leadership team in the role of co-chief operating officer alongside Julio Garros, most recently Bunge’s co-president of Agribusiness.

Glencore PLC, the former parent company of Viterra, said it has received 32.8 million Bunge shares as part of the deal, equal to a 16.4% stake in the enlarged group, as well as around $900 million in cash.

Ironically, in early 2017, Viterra, then known as Glencore Agriculture, attempted a takeover of Bunge, which was then valued at $11 billion. The attempted takeover was rebuffed.

Bunge’s stock price closed at $81.39 per share on July 2, up 1.4%, while Glencore finished the day up 4.5% at $8.33.