LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Bunge Global SA and Viterra Limited closed on a multi-billion merger on Wednesday, one day after Bunge also closed on a sale of its dry corn and corn masa milling businesses to Grain Craft.

The terms of the merger announced in 2023 includes Viterra shareholders receiving about 65.5 million shares of Bunge stock valued at around $6.2 billion along with about $2 billion in cash. As part of the deal, Bunge will assume $9.8 billion of Viterra debt. Additionally, Bunge announced plans to repurchase about $2 billion in Bunge stock.

Bunge, according to globaldata.com, was the world's fifth-largest ag products company in terms of revenue as of 2021.

Bunge CEO Greg Heckman said in a statement on Wednesday that the merger was a "defining moment" for his company.

"Together, we've formed a stronger organization with enhanced capabilities and expertise to meet the evolving needs of our customers, maximize value for our stakeholders and fulfill our shared purpose to connect farmers to consumers to deliver food, feed and fuel to the world," he said in a news release.

The combined company is led by Heckman and John Neppl, Bunge's chief financial officer. Viterra CEO David Mattiske 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.

Before the merger, Viterra specialized in grain handling and marketing, and was one of Canada's largest agri-product retailers with more than 250 retail locations in Western Canada and 17 in Australia. Viterra is the largest producer of industrial oats in North America.

Combined, the two companies will have more than 50,000 employees worldwide and total revenues north of $100 billion.

In a video posted to LinkedIn on Wednesday, Heckman called the complete merger an "exciting" moment.

"We have more capabilities to sustainably meet the demands of complex markets," he said in the video.

"Providing exceptional products and services to customers at both ends of the value chain, farmers and consumers, our talented and agile team, along with our enhanced global footprint and diversified agricultural network covering all major crops, enhances Bungie's ability to navigate seasonal cycles, weather risks and more. This transformation creates new opportunities across our supply chains, building the premier agri-business-solutions company for the 21st century."

The merger comes a little more than two years after Viterra completed the acquisition of Gavilon.

Bunge's CEO Heckman was formerly president and CEO of Gavilon and had worked there for 30 years.

Since taking over Gavilon, Viterra lists 105 facilities in the U.S and 76 across Canada, concentrated in Saskatchewan.

Bunge, now based in St. Louis, Missouri, before the merger listed more than 300 grain and oilseed processing facilities in more than 40 countries.

Bunge reported operating 56 crush plants with 57 million metric tons (mmt) of capacity, 26 port terminals, 47 oil refineries and 17 grain mills.

Also prior to the merger, Viterra listed that it operated more than 30 processing and refining facilities, as well as 29 port terminals along with more than 200 ocean vessels. Viterra reports the company handled 102 mmt of commodities in 2022.

Combined, the two companies have 125 crushing and refining facilities globally along with 55 port terminals and more than 350 grain storage facilities. The combined company would market more than 230 mmt of commodities and products.

On Tuesday, Bunge also announced the closing of a sale of its dry corn and corn masa milling operations to Grain Craft.

The sale includes Bunge facilities in Danville, Illinois; Worthington, Indiana; Crete, Nebraska; Red Oak, Iowa; Muleshoe, Texas; Atchison, Kansas; and Queretaro, Mexico.

The financial terms of the sale have not been revealed publicly.

Read more on DTN:

"Bunge, Viterra Agree to Merge," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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