Canadian grain power sets auction process

If Cargill Inc. wants to acquire Canadian grain powerhouse Viterra Inc., it now has some rules to play by.

Viterra, Canada's largest grain handler, said Thursday that it has established an auction process for companies interested in acquiring it, without releasing details. The company's stock climbed another 10 percent Thursday, valuing Viterra at $6 billion.

Viterra's shares have soared about 45 percent since Friday, when the Saskatchewan-based company disclosed that "third parties" have expressed interest in it. Minnetonka-based Cargill, reportedly Canada's third-biggest grain handler, is seen as a potential suitor.

But so are other big global commodities firms, and the latest deal rumor Thursday had Switzerland-based Glencore International in "advanced talks" with Agrium Inc. and Richardson International about a joint bid for Viterra. London's Financial Times reported the talks, citing unnamed sources.

Richardson is Canada's second-largest grain handler and Canada-based Agrium, while not in the grain trade, is involved in fertilizer and agricultural products.

A non-Canadian company that's interested in Viterra may seek to partner with a Canadian firm in order to make a deal more politically palatable to Canadian economic nationalists.

Cargill, long one of the world's most prominent grain traders, declined to comment.