A big merger is brewing in the global commodity trading business. Family-owned Louis Dreyfus, the most prominent French trading house, is in talks with Singapore’s Olam International aimed at creating the world’s third- largest trader in farm commodities after North America’s Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.
Olam, confirming the merger talks, said they were “preliminary” and may not result in a deal.
The new company formed by a merger would have a market valuation of about $15 billion U.S. and would rank as the world leader in trading cotton, rice and coffee and be a strong factor in the cocoa, wheat, corn and oilseeds markets.