S&P places Viterra on positive watch

S&P said it placed its BBB- ratings for Viterra Ltd. and Viterra Finance BV on CreditWatch with positive implications.

Viterra plans to merge with Bunge Ltd. Viterra's shareholders will get about $6.2 billion in Bunge stocks and $2 billion in cash. Additionally, Bunge plans to buy back $2 billion of Bunge stocks, which it plans to complete within 18 months of closing.

“The CreditWatch positive placement reflects our view that Viterra will have a more favorable credit profile post-merger than as a stand-alone company. The merger with higher-rated Bunge (BBB+/positive/--) will increase Viterra's scale and improve its geographic and commodity diversification. We consider that Viterra's operations will be core to the combined group,” S&P said in a press release.

The agency said it could upgrade its Viterra ratings by up to three notches and aims to resolve the positive watch once it is confident the deal will close and all regulatory and shareholder approvals are largely cleared.

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