Marubeni says it has received $3 billion from sale of grain unit

TOKYO Japanese trading company Marubeni Corp said on Tuesday that it had received $3 billion from the sale of U.S. unit Gavilon's grain business to commodities trader Glencore Plc's Viterra arm.

The deal was announced in January and completed on Monday, and Marubeni had received $3 billion including group finance from Marubeni to Gavilon, based on the best estimate at the time of closing.

Marubeni said the sale price will be finalised based on net trade working capital and net debt on the closing date agreed with Viterra.

In January, Marubeni said it expects to receive 300 billion yen to 400 billion yen $2.1 billion to $2.8 billion through the deal.

Marubeni expects to book an estimated gain of about 55 billion yen $379.7 million from the sale in the October-December quarter.

The company said it is reviewing the gain's impact on its profit forecast for the financial year to March 31, and it plans to provide an update on November 4 along with its earnings results for the July-September quarter.

The sale marks the end of a painful journey for Marubeni, as it booked a series of impairment losses of 120 billion yen since buying Gavilon in 2013 due to weaker grain prices and market volatility.

The deal is estimated to have had a positive contribution to Marubeni, considering the fund it has collected from the sale, accumulated profits from the Gavilon business, including the fertiliser arm that the Japanese trading house is keeping, a spokesman for Marubeni said.