By David Kirton

Viterra stocks spike after interest expressed in company

Mar 9, 2012 | 5:21 PM

Canada's largest publicly traded grain handler has received “expressions of interest'' came from unnamed third parties concerning a possible takeover.

“I don't think an acquisition would be without its hurdles to go through in terms of the Canadian interest being looked at,” said Jason Zandberg an analyst with P.I. Financial to the Business News Network.

Viterra holds more than 60 per cent of the grain export facilities in Canada, so politically, the buyer might have to have some kind of Canadian face, he said.

A deal for Viterra could be worth more than $5 billion based on the company's stock price, which jumped more than $2 per share today after it briefly stopped trading this morning.

They closed at $13.42 per share after hitting a high of $14.10 this afternoon.

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Viterra is not saying who is interested in buying it, but names being bandied about the financial sector include ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Louie Dreyfus.

There could be a separation of Viterra's grain handling, agricultural products and food processing if there was a takeover, Zandberg said.

“There's a similar acquisition in Australia and the agri-products business was sold off after the acquisition was made, that's a possibility. I think that the crown jewel with Viterra is its grain origination business,” he said.

The company issued a statement that said there can be no assurance that any agreement or transaction will result. It also said a further announcement will be made if appropriate.

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