
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) is acquiring a 9.99 percent stake in Glencore Agricultural Products as the parent company, Glencore, continues to reduce its shareholding.
bcIMC, which provides investment management services to British Columbia’s public sector, is acquiring the stake for $625 million, commodities giant Glencore said.
The manager is the second Canadian investor to buy a stake in Glencore’s agricultural business in a little over two months, after the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a 40 percent stake for $2.5 billion in April.
“Our investment in Glencore Agri provides an excellent opportunity for bcIMC to increase and diversify our exposure within the agricultural space, a sector we view as critical to supporting rising levels of global prosperity,” bcIMC senior vice president, infrastructure and renewable resources Lincoln Webb said in a statement.
The transactions value Glencore Agri at $6.25 billion and include the transfer of $3.6 billion debt, most of which is currently funded by the Glencore, to the company. Glencore will retain a 50.01 percent stake in the business once the deals complete, expected later this year.
bcIMC will be able to appoint one director to the company’s board, but the firm’s management will remain, Glencore said.
bcIMC manages C$124 billion ($97 billion; €86 billion) of assets, of which C$1.6 billion is invested in renewable resources and C$5.9 billion in private equity. Its fund commitments include TA Atlantic & Pacific VII, Advent Latin America Private Equity Fund VI, IK VII Fund and TPG Asia Partners VI, according to PEI Research & Analytics.