Progressive Farmer
MT. JULIET, Tenn. (DTN) -- The U.S. Justice Department intervened in a large sale of grain elevators from one company to another, citing concerns about the impact on cash grain market competition.
Zen-Noh Grain Corp, a subsidiary of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations of Japan, reached a $300 million deal to buy 35 operating and 13 idled grain elevators from Bunge North America last April.
More than a year later, the DOJ said Zen-Noh must divest nine elevators along the Mississippi River and its tributaries in order to maintain a competitive environment for farmers to sell their grain. A potential buyer, Viserion Grain, has already been lined up, although other buyers may be considered.
"Without this comprehensive divestiture, many American farmers would have faced lower prices for the corn and soybeans they produce. The divestiture of these assets protects vital competition in our nation's agricultural industry," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division in a press release.
The DOJ's complaint said the acquisition would result in overlapping draw areas of elevators in five states -- Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana and Missouri -- where farmers would see less competition for their grain without the required divestitures.