Bunge Limited (BG) 2012 Outlook Better

After quarterly earnings plummeted by 34 percent in 2011, Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) appears poised to rebound nicely in 2012.

Bunge is looking for a 15 percent boost in its share price in 2012, with analysts having a mixed outlook recently.

Bunge Limited had its price target cut by Barclays Capital (NYSE:BCS) from $81.00 to $79.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Bunge Limited had its “Sell” rating reiterated by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Bunge Limited was upgraded by TheStreet to a “Buy” rating.

Bunge Limited had its price target raised by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to $80.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

The agribusiness company has placed an estimate of $73.25 on its shares for 2012, with some analysts looking at $80.00 a share for the year. They have a dividend of $1.00, yielding 1.7 percent.

Amrit Banaspati Co Ltd., the edible oils and fats business, will be soon acquired by Bunge.

That and the organic push at the end of the year bodes well for the food company.

Bunge Acquires Corn Dry Milling Assets From J.R. Short Milling

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced that it has purchased the assets that J.R. Short Milling Company used in its traditional corn dry mill operations as well as the assets to operate its specialty product line. The purchase does not include J.R. Short's pellet division. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been released.

"This purchase enables us to balance our operations in a core North American business, corn dry milling, so that we now have two locations in the western half of the U.S. and two in the eastern half," said Todd Bastean, vice president and general manager, Bunge Milling. "This additional plant enables Bunge to better serve our existing customers and reach out to new customers with an expanded line of products."

Bunge expects to keep a majority of the employees currently working at the plant.

The plant in Kankakee, Ill., becomes Bunge Milling's fourth U.S. location. Other Bunge Milling plants are located in Danville, Ill., Atchison, Kan., and Crete, Neb.

About Bunge North America

Bunge North America (www.bungenorthamerica.com), the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers in the livestock, poultry, food processor, foodservice and bakery industries. With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and corn dry mills in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

About Bunge Limited

Bunge Limited (www.Bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company founded in 1818 and headquartered in White Plains, New York. Bunge's over 25,000 employees in over 30 countries enhance lives by improving the global agribusiness and food production chain. The company supplies fertilizer to farmers in South America, originates, transports and processes oilseeds, grains and other agricultural commodities worldwide, produces food products for commercial customers and consumers and supplies raw materials and services to the biofuels industry.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words including "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "continue" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities, as well as those of the markets we serve or intend to serve, to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The following important factors, among others, could affect our business and financial performance: our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic alliances; estimated demand for the commodities and other products that we sell and use in our business; industry conditions, including the cyclicality of the agribusiness industry and unpredictability of the weather; agricultural, economic and political conditions in the primary markets where we operate; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance.


SOURCE Bunge North America

Bunge Ltd Ends Bid to Acquire Corn Products International

When the board of Corn Products International (CPO) recently announced it could no longer support the acquisition bid from Bunge Ltd (BG) for the company, the deal had little chance of going forward, and Bunge confirmed that today, announcing it had withdrawn its bid.

The primary reason wasn't the credit markets, because the deal was to be financed with stock. Rather, it was the fall in stock price of Bunge which made the deal undesirable to the Corn Products board.

Bunge was hoping to become a significant player in the finished corn products market, expanding from its core food processing business.

Now that the deal won't go forward, we'll probably see a new CEO announced soon to replace outgoing Corn Products CEO Sam Scott.

Corn Products International Board No Longer Supports Bunge Acquisition

While the announcement by the Corn Products International Inc (CPO) board that it was no longer supporting the proposed acquisition by fertilizer and oil seed giant Bunge Ltd (BG) is a surprise, it can't be called a shocking decision.

With both companies plunging in stock price, especially Bunge (BG), and Corn Products International recently revising their guidance upwards, the deal doesn't look near as profitable for Corn Products' shareholders than when the original offer was made.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, Bunge retains a "force the vote" clause wherein they can bring the deal directly to the shareholders to vote on, no matter what the board says or does. Bunge said it won't be changing any of the terms of the deal.

The original offer was for $4.4 billion, but since then shares in bunge have declined by 63 percent, while Corn Products has fallen by 44 percent.

Most analysts think the chances of a merger are pretty slim at this time, and the major event to watch is if Corn Products hires a new CEO to replace departing CEO Sam Scott. If they do, the assumption is they're going to go on and operate as an independent company rather than proceed with the merger.

Bunge is still weighing its options as whether to continue pursuing it through forcing a vote or not.

Corn Products International Raises Guidance for Year

Corn Products International (CPO) has raised its guidance for the year based on a good third quarter.

The original guidance from the company was for between $3.15 to $3.25 a share, which now has been revised upward to $3.40 to $3.60 a share. Analysts were looking for around $3.29 a share.

Profits for the quarter increased to $88.1 million, or $1.15 a share, from last year's $51.1 million, or 66 cents a share. That growth of 72 percent.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.16 billion, up from $938.7 million during the same period last year; a 23 percent increase.

Similar to Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), less international exposure helped them in relationship to currency exchange rates.

Later this year the company will be taken over by Bunge LTD (BG). The date has been moved back to December from November, as the economic crisis has driven the prices of the two companies down by half or more.

Bunge Ltd. Clears Regulatory Hurdle for Corn Products Deal

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act has been successfully fulfilled by Bunge Ltd. in its quest to acquire Corn Products International. It involved satisfying a required regulatory waiting period.

While international clearance and approval by shareholders is still waiting in the wings, the deal is expected to close sometime in the fourth quarter.

Bunge sells a number of agricultural commodities and food products. The price range of the stock has traded in a wide swoth of $84 to $135 over the last year.

Bunge has offered about $4.8 billion for Corn Products, which includes assuming about $414 million in debt.

Corn Products will continue operating under its existing brand name.