By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada said Tuesday that it approved Bunge's $8.2 billion deal for Glencore-backed Viterra, as the companies agreed to concessions to address previous antitrust concerns.

In April, Canada's antitrust watchdog warned that the acquisition threatened to cause substantial harm to competition in the grain and oilseed sector. However, Canada's Transport Minister Anita Anand, who had final say on the transaction, said Bunge agreed to a set of terms and conditions that protect competition and secure economic benefits for the country.

Among the conditions the parties agreed to include Bunge agreeing to sell six western Canadian grain elevators, and binding controls on Bunge's minority stake in G3 Global Holdings.

Bunge has a 25% stake in G3, whose shareholders include Saudi Arabia and a group of western Canadian farmers. G3 owns 20 grain elevators in Canada and terminal elevators at ports in the Pacific-coast province of British Columbia. Under the terms, Bunge faces limits on its influence on G3's pricing and investment decisions.

Bunge also agreed to maintain Viterra's head office in Saskatchewan.

Bunge and Viterra are important partners to farmers around the world, buying crops and selling them to food companies, governments and other buyers.

The companies own a range of processing plants that turn oilseeds and grain into vegetable oil, fuel, livestock feed and other products.

In Canada, the two companies have assets that include grain elevators, oilseed crushing facilities, and terminal elevators at ports. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Canada is one of the world's top wheat producers, accounting for 4% of total production.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2025 19:40 ET (00:40 GMT)

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