Glencore International’s proposed $6.1 billion takeover of Canadian grain handling company Viterra may not close until Dec. 10.
Officials from Viterra, Canada’s largest grain company, confirmed last week that the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval from China’s ministry of commerce.
MOFCOM is the last regulatory authority that must approve the deal before it can go ahead.
Viterra had hoped the deal would be closed by Nov. 15.
“The ongoing review process continues to advance; however, MOFCOM’s approval is no longer expected to be obtained in time to facilitate a closing of the acquisition by Nov. 15, 2012,” Viterra said in a news release.
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Glencore and Viterra have been awaiting Chinese approval for months.
Viterra shareholders approved Glencore’s takeover bid in May, accepting an offer that would pay $16.25 per share. Viterra officials had initially indicated that the takeover would be completed before Aug. 1, 2012, before the beginning of the 2012-13 crop year.
In late August, Viterra announced that MOFCOM’s regulatory approval process was taking longer than expected and would continue into September.
In October, the company said Chinese approvals may not be in place until mid-November.
Last week’s announcement, the third such delay in four months, fuelled speculation that China might be delaying its approval until the Canadian government weighs in on a proposed takeover of Canadian oil company Nexen by China’s CNOOC Ltd.
The Nexen-CNOOC deal, valued at $15.1 billion, is still being reviewed by Canadian regulatory authorities. Ottawa’s review of that deal was extended for the second time Nov. 2, and a new deadline has been set for Dec. 10.
CNOOC chair Wang Yilin said last week that the Nexen deal is expected to close by the end of 2012.
