SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australia’s government has rejected Archer Daniels Midland’s $2.6 billion bid to take over GrainCorp, bowing to pressure from grain growers in a rare and surprising decision.


The country’s Foreign Investment Review Board failed to reach consensus on the deal, and so the conservative Liberal government stepped in.


The rejection is a blow to ADM, which is more U.S.-focused than rivals Cargill, Bunge and Louis Dreyfus and had wanted to improve its access to fast-growing Asian markets.