ADM negotiates buying Bunge

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.’s in advanced talks to acquire commodity trader Bunge Ltd., Bloomberg informs.

ADM and Bunge, which has a market value of about USD 11.5 billion, could reach an agreement as early as this week.

Both companies refused the official comments.

An ADM merger with Bunge would probably face significant antitrust hurdles in the U.S. and perhaps in Brazil and China. To satisfy regulators, a deal would likely require the divestment of assets such as silos and processing plants in North America, certain to attract interest from competitors.

Prior it was reported that ADM made takeover approach to Bunge, setting up a possible bidding war after Glencore.