The merger arrangement between Viterra and Australian grain handler ABB Grain is to take effect Friday (Sept. 11) after Australia’s Federal Court gave its approval to the scheme.
The Australian court’s ruling Thursday followed approval from ABB’s shareholders Wednesday at a meeting in Adelaide and thus clears the path for its merger with Canada’s largest grain firm.
ABB said in a release it has already filed the court’s decision with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
Once the two companies’ “scheme of arrangement” takes effect as expected on Friday, via a C$1.4 billion cash-and-stock takeover of ABB, a series of changes will follow within the next two to three weeks for ABB shareholders.
Read Also
Senft to step down as CEO of Seeds Canada
Barry Senft, the founding CEO of the five-year-old Seeds Canada organization is stepping down as of January 2026.
First, Regina-based Viterra said in a release, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will suspend trading of ABB’s shares effective with the closing bell Friday.
The ASX will then introduce CDIs in Viterra for trading on a deferred settlement basis starting Monday (Sept. 14).
CHESS depository interests (CDIs) are an ASX mechanism that permits Australian residents to hold and transfer foreign financial products without having to hold legal title to them. (CHESS, the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, is the computer system that manages settlements of ASX transactions.)
ASX trading in Viterra CDIs on a deferred settlement basis is then expected to run until Sept. 28, after which Viterra CDIs are to trade on the ASX on a normal settlement basis starting Sept. 29.
Trading of Viterra’s shares issued under the scheme on Toronto’s TSX, meanwhile, is to start Sept. 24, the company said.
Little is expected to change in terms of the day-to-day management of either company, with Viterra’s head office remaining at Regina and Viterra’s new Australian, New Zealand and Southeast Asian operations to be based at Adelaide, South Australia.
The two companies have said they expect to enjoy a “significant competitive advantage” in jointly meeting an expected 20 per cent increase in demand for core ag commodities over the next 10 years.
With seeding and harvests at opposite ends of the globe, the deal is also expected to offer Viterra and ABB “counter-seasonal” cash flows, which would more evenly distribute earnings over a given fiscal year.
