Glencore’s Next Move Could be in Agriculture

Bloomberg reported Friday that Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) may look to the agricultural space for its next move. The company became a major agricultural player when it purchased Viterra Inc. in 2012, but while Glencore is one of the world’s largest traders of wheat, it still has no presence in most important grain market: the United States.

As quoted in the market news:

With only one acquisition in the past 11 months, Glencore Plc’s billionaire chief Ivan Glasenberg is in the midst of a deal-making drought. As the industry awaits his next move, the focus has been on whether he’ll make another run for the world’s second-biggest miner Rio Tinto Group, which spurned an approach last year. Underpinned by a stellar $800 million increase in profits from the division last year, agriculture may offer a more tempting expansion opportunity for the company.

Although no move is imminent, businesses including Scoular Co., Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) and Lansing Trade Group LLC may be targets, adding physical assets like grain silos and rail terminals, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking who asked not to be named for reasons of confidentiality.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.