Bunge Ltd. BG said Tuesday it has agreed to combine with privately held Viterra Ltd. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8.2 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Bunge will pay Viterra shareholders about 65.6 million shares valued at $6.2 billion and about $2 billion in cash. Bunge will assume $9.8 billion of Viterra debt and will repurchase $2 billion of its own stock. The combined company is expected to create a “global agribusiness company well positioned to meet the demands of increasingly complex markets and better serve farmers and end-customers,” the companies said in a joint statement. The deal is expected to close in mid-2024 and to generate about $250 million of annual gross pretax operational synergies within three years of completion. The deal is expected to boost adjusted per-share earnings for Bunge one year after closing. Bunge shares slid 3% premarket.
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