U.S. agribusiness Bunge Ltd. agreed to buy Glencore Plc-backed Viterra for US$8.2 billion in stock and cash, creating a trading giant capable of competing with the world's biggest agricultural players.

Viterra shareholders will eventually own about 30 per cent of the combined business after the transaction, the companies said in a joint statement. Roughly 75 per cent of the payment would be made in Bunge stock, and another 25 per cent, or US$2 billion, in cash. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of Bunge and Viterra. 

Combining the two will create a trader big enough to take on the industry's elite: Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. and Chicago's Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. The deal is the culmination of Bunge Chief Executive Officer Greg Heckman's transformation of the once troubled St. Louis-based crop trader into a cash-rich oilseeds champion. 

Bunge will assume US$9.8 billion of Viterra debt. It also plans to repurchase US$2 billion of its own stock. After the buyback, Viterra shareholders will own 33 per cent of the merged company. 

Glencore shares jumped as much as 4.1 per cent in London. Bunge dropped about 3.2 per cent in pre-market trading. 

For most of its existence, Bunge was primarily a crop merchant. Its expansion to the Americas saw it become the B in the storied ABCD quartet of trading houses that dominated agricultural markets, which also includes Louis-Dreyfus Co.

After a wrong-way bet on soybean prices resulted in a surprise quarterly loss in 2018, Heckman took the helm at Bunge, cutting costs, selling under-performing businesses and focusing on risk management. The company has also benefited from the market turmoil and volatility caused by the war in Ukraine, while a boom in renewable diesel has helped underpin profits.

The merger will offer a way for Glencore CEO Gary Nagle to unlock value from the company's 49.99 per cent stake in Viterra, which has limited synergies with its wider metals, mining and trading operations. 

Glencore has flirted with the idea of a deal with Bunge on and off for years. In 2017, it approached Bunge about a friendly takeover, but was publicly rebuffed.