(Reuters) -Bunge Global’s $34 billion merger with Glencore-backed Viterra is being stalled by trade tensions between the United States and China, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
“We are in the final stage of regulatory approval. We express our continued gratitude for the constructive dialogue with Chinese government officials throughout the regulatory review process,” Bunge and Viterra said in separate emailed responses to Reuters.
The merger was first announced in 2023. If finalized, it will create a global crop trading and processing giant closer in scale to chief rivals Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill.
Regulatory approval in China is among the last remaining hurdles to the deal’s closing.
Bunge has said it has obtained most global approvals required for the merger – which was initially expected to close in mid-2024 but which has been extended multiple times – including in the European Union and Canada.
The company on Friday said it has extended a deadline to transfer up to $1.95 billion in Viterra debt to Bunge to June 13, from May 5 previously, pending closure of the deal.
Bunge executives and advisers are growing increasingly concerned that the political rift between the two countries will hold up the process further, according to the Bloomberg report.
Bunge CEO Greg Heckman made several trips to China for discussions with authorities, the report said. It also said Chinese regulators have flagged concerns that the merger would increase industry concentration and potentially impact Beijing’s food security interests.
The relevant regulators are conducting a careful compliance review given the deal’s significance, according to the report.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru and Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Pooja Desai, Tasim Zahid and Leslie Adler)
