WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and
SINGAPORE, July 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunge Limited (NYSE:
BG) ("Bunge") and Wilmar International Limited (SGX: F34)
("Wilmar") announced today they are forming a joint venture in
Vietnam to leverage both
companies' footprints in Asia.
Bunge will sell 45% of its equity in its Vietnam crush operations to Wilmar, creating a
three-party joint venture with Bunge and Wilmar as equal 45%
shareholders and Quang Dung – a
leading soybean meal distributor in Vietnam and majority owner of Green Feed, a
growing Vietnamese feed milling business – retaining its existing
10% stake in the operations.
The transaction establishes a strategic collaboration between
three uniquely positioned leaders in the Vietnamese oil and feed
markets, unlocking growth potential by connecting Bunge's upstream
crushing capabilities to Wilmar's downstream oil refining and
consumer products business, and to Green Feed's feed milling and
marketing activities. The joint venture creates integrated
operations that are both a source and sales outlet for oil in
Vietnam – one of the
fastest-growing domestic edible oils markets in Asia – and that enable increased participation
in the domestic feed milling industry.
"Bunge is excited to partner with Wilmar, the largest downstream
edible oils player in Vietnam,"
said Soren Schroder, CEO,
Bunge Limited. "The collaboration
will create increased operating, marketing and logistics synergies
across the Vietnam oils and
soybean meal value chains, and help us remain a low-cost operator
with the highest efficiency possible."
"Bunge is a natural partner for us. In Vietnam, it is the largest producer of soybean
oil and Wilmar is a major buyer of soybean oil," said Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman and CEO of Wilmar.
"The soybean meal distribution capabilities of the joint venture
also complement Wilmar's animal feed ingredients business in
Vietnam, including rice bran,
wheat bran, palm kernel expeller, copra expeller, canola meal and
feed oils."
About Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com,
NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company
operating in over 40 countries with approximately 35,000
employees. Bunge buys, sells, stores and transports oilseeds
and grains to serve customers worldwide; processes oilseeds to make
protein meal for animal feed and edible oil products for commercial
customers and consumers; produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane;
mills wheat, corn and rice to make ingredients used by food
companies; and sells fertilizer in South America. Founded in
1818, the company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.
About Wilmar International Limited
Wilmar
International Limited, founded in 1991 and headquartered in
Singapore, is today Asia's leading agribusiness group. Wilmar is
ranked amongst the largest listed companies by market
capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange.
Wilmar's business activities include oil palm cultivation,
oilseed crushing, edible oils refining, sugar milling and refining,
specialty fats, oleochemicals, biodiesel and fertiliser
manufacturing as well as rice and flour milling. At the core of
Wilmar's strategy is an integrated agribusiness model that
encompasses the entire value chain of the agricultural commodity
business, from cultivation, processing, merchandising to
manufacturing of a wide range of branded agricultural products. It
has over 500 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution
network covering China,
India, Indonesia and some 50 other countries. The
Group has a multinational workforce of about 92,000 people.
Wilmar's portfolio of high quality processed agricultural
products is the preferred choice of consumers and the food
manufacturing industry. Its consumer-packed products have a leading
share in many Asian and African countries. Through scale,
integration and the logistical advantages of its business model,
Wilmar is able to extract margins at every step of the value chain,
thereby reaping operational synergies and cost efficiencies. Wilmar
is a firm advocate of sustainable growth and is committed to its
role as a responsible corporate citizen.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains both historical and
forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements
of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are not based
on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations
and projections about our future results, performance, prospects
and opportunities. We have tried to identify these forward-looking
statements by using words including "may," "will," "should,"
"could," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "intend,"
"estimate," "continue" and similar expressions. These
forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual
results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these
forward-looking statements. The following important factors, among
others, could affect our business and financial performance:
industry conditions, including fluctuations in supply, demand and
prices for agricultural commodities and other raw materials and
products used in our business; fluctuations in energy and freight
costs and competitive developments in our industries; the effects
of weather conditions and the outbreak of crop and animal disease
on our business; global and regional agricultural, economic,
financial and commodities market, political, social and health
conditions; the outcome of pending regulatory and legal
proceedings; our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from
acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and strategic alliances;
our ability to achieve the efficiencies, savings and other benefits
anticipated from our cost reduction, margin improvement and other
business optimization initiatives; changes in government policies,
laws and regulations affecting our business, including agricultural
and trade policies, tax regulations and biofuels legislation; and
other factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking
statements included in this release are made only as of the date of
this release, and except as otherwise required by federal
securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events
or circumstances.
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SOURCE Bunge Limited