Agrium Hopes to Complete Purchase of Viterra Stores by Early 2013

Sep 19, 2012

Agrium to Buy Former Viterra Stores from Glencore Inc.

According to Agrium’s Chief Executive Mike Wilson, Agrium Inc. is expected to finalize the purchase of the majority of Viterra’s Canadian and Australian farm supply stores by the end of 2012 or early 2013. Agrium is the largest U.S farm retail supplier and is paying approximately $575 million (CAD) for most of the retail outlets, which sell chemicals, seeds and fertilizers directly to farmers.

Swiss-based Glencore International Plc. is expected to complete its takeover of Viterra later this month. Richardsons International Ltd. will also purchase some of Viterra’s crop-processing sites and grain-handling elevators after Glencore’s takeover of Viterra is finalized.

With the exception of China’s Ministry of Commerce, which is still in the review process of the transaction, the Glencore – Viterra deal has received approvals from regulatory authorities; however, the purchase of Glencore assets by Agrium and Richradson’s still awaits approval from the Canada’s Competition Bureau.

Video: Is China Buying US Soybeans + USDA Nov 14th Crop Report could be “Game Changing”

After a week of a U.S./China trade truce, markets/trade is skeptical that we have not seen a signed agreement nor heard much from China or seen any details. There are rumors that China is buying soybean futures & not the physical. Trust in Trump?
12 MMT of U.S. soybean purchases by China by year-end is better than 0 but we all need to give it more time and give it a chance to unfold. China did lower the tariffs on Ag and is buying U.S. wheat and sorghum.
U.S. supreme court could rule against Trumps tariffs, but the Trump administration does have a plan B.
U.S. government shutdown is now the longest in history at 38 days.
But despite a U.S. government shutdown we will be getting a USDA November crop report next Friday and it could be “game changing.” If the USDA provides a bullish surprise with lower U.S. corn and soybean yields and ending stocks that are lower than expected both corn and soybean futures will break out above their ceilings at $4.35/bu and $11.35/bu respectively.
The funds continued their selling in live and feeder cattle futures on continued fears that the Trump administration want to lower U.S. beef prices. The fundamentals have not changed, only market psychology has.
Stocks markets continue to worry about a weak U.S. job market, but you can blame ChatGPT for that. In the future, we will have a more efficient, productive and growing economy with a higher unemployment rate until we have more skilled AI workers.
After 34 new record highs in the S & P 500 and 124 new records in the NASDAQ in 2025 we are back to a correction and investor profit taking as AI valuations may have gotten too stretched near-term ahead of NVDA’s 3rd quarter earnings announcement on Nov. 19th. But this is not an AI bubble.
75% of Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk!
It has rained in South America in the last 7 days, but both the American and European models agree that Central Brazil remains dry in the next 14-days!

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