Glencore Acquires Viterra in $6.1-Billion Deal

Viterra deal | BCBusiness
In Glencore’s bid to buy Viterra, the company “Canadianized” the deal by pooling the bid with two Canadian companies and offering a Canadian headquarters.

Switzerland-based Glencore’s purchase of Viterra, Canada’s largest grain handler, epitomizes how multinational corporations will now ‘Canadianize’ deals.

Canadian grain handler Viterra has tiptoed around specifics of its acquisition for days. Most industry insiders saw Tuesday’s announcement coming, but I’m willing to bet many didn’t foresee the “Canadianzation” of the deal.
 
Switzerland’s Glencore offered to buy Viterra in a friendly deal for $6.1 billion, and Viterra’s board unanimously accepted. But, as the old saying goes, the devil is in the details. Glencore learned a valuable lesson from the failed Billiton-Potash Corp. takeover in 2010 – any outside corporation buying a Canadian company needs to sweeten the deal to get government approval.
 
Cue Agrium’s and Richardson’s entrance. Both are Canadian companies (based in Calgary and Winnipeg, respectively), and both agreed to acquire the retail and some grain handling assets in the bid.
 
To add further “Canadian” value to the bid, Glencore emphasized it would set up its North American headquarters in Regina and would launch any American business from that location.
 
Glencore’s inspired maneuver to break up Viterra’s assets to be distributed among Canuck corporations will most likely help the deal fly through any government antitrust committees.