Story by The Globe and Mail

The company formerly known as Canadian Wheat Board has found a buyer.

A joint venture between food company Bunge Canada and SALIC Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co., will pay $250-million for a majority stake in grain trader now known as CWB.

The joint venture known as G3 Global Grain Group said on Wednesday the rest of the grain trader will be held by farmers.

The stake is the final part of the transformation of the Canadian Wheat Board, whose monopoly on wheat and barley buying in Western Canada was revoked by Ottawa in 2012. Since then, it has been buying and building grain terminals and two Great Lakes ships in a bid to compete with the global food companies that operate in Canada.

“CWB is pleased to complete the initiative to commercialize CWB and are excited at the prospect of G3 as our strategic investor. G3 brings substantial financial strength and extensive operational experience to execute on this growth strategy, and we are pleased that the farmers will be able to continue to participate in the commercialized CWB,” says Ian White, CEO of CWB.

“Canada is poised to play an increasing role in providing food to a growing world population and in capturing a larger share of the international market demand,” says Abdullah Al-Rubaian, chairman of SALIC.

“SALIC is committed to infrastructure investment in countries such as Canada, which are exporters of surplus supplies of high quality grain. The launch of G3 will enable us to invest in infrastructure across Canada, providing more market choices for Canadian producers. We are committed to G3’s growth strategy and are excited to work with Bunge, CWB, and the Canadian farming community.”


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