Shareholders of Australian grain firm ABB Grain have officially voted in favour of the merger proposal from Canada’s largest grain company.
Viterra announced in a release that ABB shareholders met Wednesday in Adelaide and voted 83.57 per cent of shares and 60.45 per cent in number in favour of the “scheme of arrangement” between the two companies.
The support thresholds had been 75 per cent of shares and 50 per cent of shareholders voting, Viterra said.
ABB shareholders also voted on a constitutional amendment that would remove the 15 per cent cap on the amount of issued share capital in ABB that could be owned by any one shareholder.
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That amendment passed with 82.83 per cent of votes cast, well over the 75 per cent threshold, Viterra said.
“The favourable voting results of today’s scheme of arrangement and constitutional amendment meetings clearly demonstrate that ABB shareholders understand the benefits of bringing our market leading companies together,” Mayo Schmidt, CEO for Regina-based Viterra, said in the company’s release.
“We recognize the important role played by the Federal Court of Australia in the approval process, and now await its ruling on our combination.”
That ruling is expected Sept. 10, the company said.
Viterra said its deal with ABB is expected to give the combined company “access to the world’s largest export origination of wheat, canola and barley, with global logistic arbitrage opportunities and one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry.”
The deal, they said, would also spread the combined companies’ risk by cutting their concentration and proportionate earnings in any one geography or business segment.
