Viterra facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
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Key people
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Kyle Jeworski |
Viterra Limited is a large company that deals with grain and other farm products. It started in Canada and grew to have operations around the world. This includes places like the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and China.
Viterra helped move crops from farms to tables. It handled grain, sold farm products, and processed food. This allowed the company to earn money at different steps of food production.
Viterra's main grain handling and selling operations were in two very fertile areas. These were Western Canada and South Australia. The company owned and ran grain terminals in Western Canada. It also managed most of the grain storage in South Australia. Viterra shipped grain to many markets worldwide.
The company was also one of the biggest sellers of farm products in Canada. It had over 250 stores across the Prairies. Viterra also owned part of a large fertilizer plant called Canadian Fertilizer Limited.
Viterra also had businesses that added value to farm products. For example, it owned Dakota Growers Pasta Company. It was the biggest maker of oats for industry in North America. It was also a top producer of pasta, malt, and animal feed.
How Viterra Started
Viterra Inc. was formed in 2007. It became a public company when the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool bought Agricore United. At that time, Agricore United was the biggest grain handler in Western Canada.
Viterra's roots go back to grain-trading groups called "wheat pools." These groups were set up in Canada in the 1920s. Viterra later bought the Australian Barley Board. This was a marketing group in Australia that started in 1939.
| Grain Growers Grain Company (1906-2008) |
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| Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company (1911–1926) |
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| United Grain Growers (1917–2001) |
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| Saskatchewan Co-Operative Wheat Producers (1923–1953) |
Alberta Wheat Pool (1923–1998) |
Manitoba Pool Elevators (1926–1998) |
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| Australian Barley Board (1939–1999) |
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| Sask. Wheat Pool (1953–2007) |
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| Agricore (1998-2001) |
AusBulk formerly South Australian Cooperative Bulk Handling (SACBH) (?-2004) |
United Grower Holdings (?-2004) |
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| Agricore United (2001–2007) |
ABB Grain (1999–2009) |
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| VITERRA (2007-2013) |
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Important Mergers
In 2009, Viterra announced it would buy an Australian company called ABB Grain. This deal was worth about C$1.4 billion. Most of ABB shareholders voted to approve the merger.
In 2012, Viterra received offers from several companies wanting to buy it. Glencore offered to buy Viterra for $6.1 billion. Glencore planned to sell Viterra's Canadian parts to other companies. These companies were Agrium and Richardson International. Glencore wanted to keep Viterra's businesses outside of Canada. The deal was completed in December 2012.
After Glencore bought Viterra, Viterra Inc. became part of Glencore. A new group of directors was put in charge. This group included people from Glencore.
In 2016, Glencore sold a part of its agriculture business to the Canada Pension Plan. They paid US$2.5 billion for 40 percent of the business. This part of Glencore's business was later renamed "Glencore Agriculture."
In 2020, Glencore Agriculture changed its name back to Viterra. It also created a new brand look. This new brand was based on the Viterra name from 2007.
In 2022, Viterra bought a company called Gavilon for $1.1 billion. Gavilon is expected to become fully part of Viterra by early 2023.
In 2023, Viterra announced plans to merge with another company, Bunge Limited.
See Also
- ABB Grain
- Alberta Wheat Pool
- Cargill
- Glencore
- Richardson International
- United Grain Growers
