Global agribusiness giant Bunge announced on 9 July that it had completed the sale of 35 US grain elevators to Japan’s Zen-Noh Grain Corp (ZCG).
“This transaction will allow Bunge to operate more efficiently and reinvest in higher returning areas of the company while reducing costs and strengthening our balance sheet,” Bunge CEO Greg Heckman had said when the sale was first announced in April 2020.
World Grain reported on 12 July that ZGC’s affiliate - CGB Enterprises - would operate the elevators through its wholly owned subsidiary, Consolidated Grain and Barge Co (CGB), which currently ran more than 100 grain origination facilities in the USA.
Before the sale Zen-Noh, Bunge ranked seventh in grain storage capacity in North America with 170.1M bushels, while CGB ranked fifth at 243.1M bushels, according to Sosland Publishing’s 2021 Grain & Milling Annual.
Heckman said Bunge would continue to be an industry leader in the US grain marketplace through global grain trading and distribution at its export terminals in Destrehan, Louisiana, which it was expanding, and EGT, its joint venture in the Pacific Northwest.
“We will also continue our strong presence in the soyabean processing business and milling operations.”
Bunge would also retain ownership in the Bunge-SCF Grain joint venture and its Indiana elevators.
