Bunge to buy corn co.
The Associated Press
Monday, June 23, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) — Agriculture heavyweight Bunge Ltd. will buy Corn Products International Inc. in a stock deal worth about $4.4 billion, the company said Monday.
At the equivalent of $56 for each Bunge share, the buyout represents a 31 percent premium to Corn Products' closing share price of $42.90 on Friday.
Two of the nation's oldest agricultural businesses would become one in the deal, in which Bunge would also assume $414 million of Corn Products' debt.
The buyout will combine Corn Products' sweeteners, starches and other ingredients with Bunge's portfolio of agribusiness, fertilizer, edible oil and milling products.
The global market for starches and sweeteners alone is growing at approximately 5 percent each year, and the company has some of the biggest beer and food makers in the world as clients.
Bunge, founded in 1818 and headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., has more than 25,000 employees in more than 30 countries
Corn Products will maintain its operational headquarters in Westchester, Ill.