Glencore Agricultural Chief to Retire -- WSJ
May 24 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Jacob Bunge
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (May 24, 2019).
The head of Glencore PLC's agricultural division is leaving the
company amid turbulent grain markets and after a failed effort to
take over a rival.
Chris Mahoney, chief executive of Glencore Agriculture and a
21-year veteran of the company, is retiring at the end of
September, according to the company. He will be succeeded by David
Mattiske, who currently oversees Glencore's agricultural business
in Europe and Asia.
Mr. Mahoney's exit after 17 years leading the Swiss mining
conglomerate's grain-trading operations could make it less likely
that Glencore will soon pursue a major deal in the agricultural
industry. Glencore approached Bunge Ltd., a 200-year-old crop
trading and processing giant, about a takeover, The Wall Street
Journal reported in 2017, but those talks didn't lead to any
deal.
Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg since then has told
investors that the company is interested in agricultural
acquisitions, but at the right price. "It would have to be a
compelling situation," he said on a February 20 conference
call.
Mr. Mahoney said in a statement: "I am proud to have played a
part in the significant development of Glencore Agriculture over
the last 20 years."
Glencore has expanded its agricultural business over the years,
including its 2012 purchase of Canadian grain company Viterra.
Glencore's agriculture business, like its rivals, has struggled due
to persistently low crop prices and trade disputes that have
altered the typical global trade flows in grain. Glencore's
Canadian business faces further challenges, including a
Bunge-backed Vancouver port expected to open later this year,
boosting competition for Canadian crops, and tense Canadian-Chinese
relations that have cut into Canada's agricultural exports to
China.
In February, Glencore said 2018 profit for its agricultural
division fell 23% to $484 million, due to poor crops in Australia,
Argentina and Brazil, as well as trade tensions between the U.S.
and China.
Mr. Mahoney's departure from Glencore extends an exodus of
top-level grain trading executives this spring. Archer Daniels
Midland Co., Louis Dreyfus Co. and Cargill Inc. have named new
grain and agricultural supply chain heads in recent weeks. Bunge
and Gavilon Group, a major U.S. grain company based in Omaha, Neb.,
have named new CEOs this year.
Scott Patterson contributed to this article.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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