Bunge-Viterra merger will cause anti-competitive effects, competition bureau finds [Video]

The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.

A recent report from Canada’s Competition Bureau concluded that Bunge Ltd’s $8.2 billion acquistion of Viterra is “likely to result in substantial anti-competitive effects and a significant loss of rivalry” in a number of grain and canola oil markets across Canada.

The bureau pointed to Bunge’s ability to “materially influence the economic behaviour” of G3 Global Holdings – a major competitor to Viterra.

“As a minority shareholder of G3, Bunge has access to G3’s confidential competitively sensitive information,” the report read. “Provid[ing] a channel through which G3’s largest competitor [Viterra] has the ability to access information about G3’s economic and competitive strategies.”

As a result of the proposed merger, the bureau expects a substantial lessening of competition for the purchase of canola between Bunge and Viterra in certain western Canadian markets. The report …