There’s a major deal in the grainhandling business in Saskatchewan.
A subsidiary of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to buy 40 per-cent of Glencore Agricultural products, which owns Regina-based Viterra.
Ray Orb, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, says farmers will have to adjust to a pension plan owning grainhandling facilities.
Orb says some farmers may be upset with a pension plan investment in rural infrastructure.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is paying 2.5 billion dollars for 40 per-cent of Glencore Agricultural Products, subject to regulatory approval.
The deal includes worldwide facilities owned by Glencore.
Glencore operates in more than 30 countries.
The senior marketing director for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Mark Jenkins, calls agriculture an excellent fit for a long-term investor like the CPPIB.
The president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, Norm Hall, is glad to see Canadian ownership in Viterra.
Source : CKRM