The US Justice Department says the Zen-Noh grain company of Louisiana must heavily divest before buying 48 grain elevators from Missouri-based Bunge.
The department’s Antitrust Division file a civil antitrust lawsuit in federal court to block the proposed merger while proposing a settlement that, if approved, would resolve competitive concerns.
Without the divestiture, the department says many American farmers would have faced lower prices for their corn and soybeans.
The settlement would require Zen-Noh to sell nine grain elevators in five states along the Mississippi River to Colorado-based Viserion Grain or another approved buyer.
