Bunge to sell Brazilian fertilizer business for $3.8 billion in cash to Vale

Bunge to sell Brazil fertilizer business for $3.8B

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Agribusiness company Bunge Ltd. said Wednesday it is selling its fertilizer nutrient assets in Brazil to mining giant Vale SA for $3.8 billion.

Vale, based in Brazil, is buying Bunge’s 42.3 percent interest in Fertilizantes Fosfatados SA, Brazil’s biggest supplier of fertilizer ingredients, along with Bunge’s Brazilian phosphate mines and production facilities. Phosphate is a key ingredient of fertilizer.

Bunge will keep its retail fertilizer business in Brazil and enter a supply agreement with Vale through 2012.

Proceeds of the sale will help grow Bunge’s food and agribusiness units and pay down debt. The White Plains, N.Y., company sells shortening, oils and other cooking aids in bulk. It also processes grains.

Bunge said that selling the phosphate production business would allow it to expand its sugar operations. In December, the company said it would buy a Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer. Bunge also supplies the biofuels industry, which relies on renewable resources like sugar.

Vale, the world’s largest producer of iron ore, has branched out into other mining products in recent years with a string of international deals.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter.

Bunge shares fell 54 cents to $61.48 in afternoon trading while U.S.-traded shares of Vale fell 22 cents to $26.52.