China Plans New Food-Trading Giant With Cofco Merger and IPO – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — China's largest food company plans to merge its international trading division with several domestic businesses to create a new agricultural commodity behemoth before embarking on an initial public offering. Cofco Corp. has hired bankers to advise on a plan to combine Cofco International Ltd. with some of its domestic trading and processing assets, according to people familiar with the talks. After the merger, Cofco plans to sell shares in the new company, most likely in Shanghai, the people said, asking not to be named as the matter is private. The IPO could value the new company at more…