M&A in agricultural sector at significantly high levels

ON SPECIALIST MARKETS

Agriculture companies are expected to grow to tackle the increase in global food demand, writes First State's Renzo Casarotto

We are seeing significant M&A activity across the agricultural sector, the most high-profile being BHP Billiton’s $39bn hostile bid for fertiliser producer and distributor Potash Corporation. Other developments include the proposed purchase of CSR’s sugar division by Singapore-based Wilmar International and the bid by Agrium of Canada for the Australian wheat exporter and farm input retailer AWB. A key factor driving M&A is the expectation for agriculture related companies to see sustainable volume growth as they tackle significant increases in global food demand in years to come. The...