Bunge agrees to sell oilseed processing business in Russia

MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Bunge Ltd, one of the world's largest traders of agricultural commodities, has agreed to sell its oilseed processing business in Russia to Karen Vanetsyan, the controlling shareholder of Exoil Group, the company said on Monday.

The sale includes the sunflower processing plant in Voronezh. The completion of the sale is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

A market source familiar with the deal told Interfax that this is a personal investment by Vanetsyan.

"With Karen Vanetsyan's more than 25 years of experience in agricultural processing, we are confident the team will continue to successfully serve customers," Bunge CEO Greg Heckman said in the press release.

Market sources told Interfax earlier that Bunge intended to reduce its presence in Russia by selling Bunge CIS LLC, which owns one of the largest oilseed processing plants in Russia.

Bunge opened the plant in Voronezh Region in 2008 at a cost of more than $130 million. It can process 540,000 tonnes of oilseeds and produce over 200 million bottles of sunflower oil per year. Bunge CIS's portfolio includes the Oleina, Ideal and Maslenitsa brands, among others.

Bunge, one of the leading players on the world food market, set up a division in Russia in 2004. Bunge CIS increased its net profit to 1.9 billion rubles in 2021 from 1.3 billion rubles in 2020 on revenue up 60% to 30 billion rubles from 19.1 billion rubles.

Bunge and its rivals Archer-Daniels-Midland Co, Cargill Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Company, the so-called ABCD four global grain traders, began to wind down their operations in Russia in March.