Bunge Limited

Formation and listing

Bunge was founded in 1818 by Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge in Amsterdam, it was relocated to Antwerp by Edouard Bunge in 1859. Edouard's brother; Ernest Bunge, took the Bunge name to Argentina in 1884, and in 1905 the business extended to Brazil and later on to the United States. In 1994, the company was converted into the Bermuda-registered Bunge International, retaining the Bunge y Born name only in Argentina. Bunge remained a privately held company of 180 shareholders (including the longtime controlling family interests) and divested itself in 1998 of almost all its retail foods interests in favor of a greater role in international agribusiness and commodity markets; by then the company's gross annual turnover had reached US$13 billion. Bunge ultimately went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001, becoming Bunge Limited.

In 2001, under the leadership of Alberto Weisser, Bunge was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Through their three businesses—agribusiness, fertilizer, and food products—they have established a leading global presence in the farm-to-consumer food chain. Bunge is the world's largest oilseed processor.

Acquisitions

In 2002, Bunge acquired Cereol, parent of oilseed companies Central Soya and CanAmera Foods. In 2008, Bunge acquired Walter Rau, a margarine company, from Germany. In 2009, Bunge acquired the margarine business from Raisio Group, maker of functional food ingredients. In 2017, Bunge announced intentions to acquire a 70% stake in IOI Loders Croklaan for $946 million from Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Corp Berhad.

Brazilian sourcing protests

In 2012, Bunge came under criticism from NGO Survival International for sourcing its sugarcane from the ancestral land of the Guaraní people in Brazil. It has been reported by the tribe that crop production has brought pesticides and machinery that has damaged their health, as well as restricting them to a small area that has prevented them from hunting and practicing their traditions. Also, in January 2003, opposition from the tribe had led to the killing of their chief Marcus Vernon by ranchers. In 2012, survivors were requesting Bunge follows the example of the company Raízen, which agreed to stop the sourcing of sugarcane from the area.

Recent

In May 2017, Glencore in Switzerland began pursuing the acquisition of Bunge. In early June 2017, Bunge hired advisers to help it fend off Glencore's takeover interest. In January 2017, Archer Daniels Midland agreed to sell its crop risk services (insurance) unit to Validus Holdings for $127.5 million. On January 19, 2018, it was reported that Archer Daniels Midland had approached Bunge Ltd. about a takeover, with details "unclear." At that point, Bunge had a market value of about $9.8 billion, and was still being pursued by Glencore.

In 2019, Bunge relocated its global headquarters from White Plains, New York, to the St Louis metropolitan area in 2020, where the company had its US headquarters.

In April 2020, Bunge announced it agreed to sell 35 U.S interior grain elevators to Zen-Noh Corporation. The completion of the sale was subject to regulatory approval and closed in December 2021.

In 2021, Bunge was ranked 18th on FoodTalks' Global Top 40 Plant Protein Producers list.

Products

The company's operations include:

originating oilseeds and grains from the world's primary growing regions and transporting them to customers worldwide;

crushing oilseeds to make meal for the livestock industry and oil for the food processing, food service and biofuel industries;

producing bottled oils, mayonnaise, margarines and other food products for consumers;