CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA — Viterra Inc. confirmed on July 15 that Glencore International plc  that it has received notice from the Canadian Minister of Industry that Glencore's acquisition of Viterra Inc. has been approved by the Minister under the Investment Canada Act.

Glencore has also received notification from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) that it has moved to the next phase of review of the transaction, as is common in transactions being reviewed by MOFCOM. Glencore continues to engage with MOFCOM to ensure approval as soon as possible.

MOFCOM is expected to continue its review into August. As a result, Viterra and Glencore do not expect closing of the acquisition of Viterra by Glencore pursuant to the court approved plan of arrangement to occur by the end of July 2012. Viterra and Glencore will update the market in due course when they expect closing of the arrangement to occur.

The closing of the arrangement is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all applicable conditions, including the granting of outstanding approvals or clearances under the Australian Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and, as noted above, the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law. In addition to the Investment Canada Act approval noted above, significant approvals that have been granted to date include Viterra shareholder approval, the final order issuance by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approving the Arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act, the No Action letter from the Competition Bureau of Canada, the expiration of the U.S. statutory waiting period for antitrust review, the statement made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that it will not oppose the Arrangement, and notification by the European Commission that it has decided not to oppose the Arrangement. Nonetheless, there can be no assurance that the Arrangement will be completed on the terms expected or at all.