-backed Viterra are merging in an $18 billion deal including debt, the companies said on Tuesday, creating one of the world's largest agriculture trading firms.and Cargill and will be examined closely by antitrust regulators.Viterra shareholders will receive about 65.6 million shares of Bunge stock, carrying a value of about $6.2 billion, and about $2.0 billion in cash. Bunge will also assume $9.8 billion of Viterra's debt.
Bunge is already the world's largest oilseed processor and analysts said it and Viterra's crushing businesses could face regulatory scrutiny inBunge last year was the largest corn and soybean exporter from Brazil, the world's top source of the staple crops for making animal feed and biofuels, according to data from shipping agent Cargonave. Viterra was the third-largest corn exporter and No. 7 soybean shipper.