Glencore keen on acquisitions, seeks to grow agriculture business

Glencore said Wednesday it was seeking to grow its agriculture business and was keen on growing revenue through acquisitions.

Speaking as the company reported financial results for 2017, Ivan Glasenberg said Glencore, which owns a minority stake in Glencore Agriculture, was keen on “bolt on acquisitions” in “existing commodities and geographies”.

Glasenberg added that the company was keen on growing its agriculture business.

The statement comes eight months after it emerged Glencore Agriculture, Glencore’s joint venture with two Canadian pension funds, had initiated talks to buy Bunge – the “B” in the so-called ABCD of agribusiness giants that includes Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Cargill and Louis Dreyfus.

Since then, however, ADM was also reported to express an interest in buying Bunge, although no company has commented on the reports.

Last November, Glencore Agriculture CEO Chris Mahoney said the industry “could benefit from more consolidation” and added that it would not grow organically in the US, where it has limited operations.

Bunge has a large operation in Brazil, a major exporter of soybean and corn.