CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Grain Craft, the third-largest flour miller in the United States, has entered into an agreement to acquire the North American dry corn milling assets of Bunge Global SA. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Announced on April 15, the deal includes several key facilities: dry corn milling plants in Crete, Neb.; Atchison, Kan.; and Danville, Ill.; dry masa facilities in Muleshoe, Texas; Red Oak, Iowa; and Worthington, Ind.; and a transload and packaging facility in Querétaro, Mexico. The acquisition involves approximately 600 employees, and the division will continue to be headquartered in St. Louis. While a closing date for the transaction has not been set, the deal is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
Pete Frederick, president and CEO of Grain Craft, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, “We are excited to welcome the Bunge corn milling team to our Grain Craft family. This transformational acquisition expands our product offerings into an adjacent category and, along with the expertise of our entire team, will enhance our ability to service our customers across a broader spectrum of food ingredients.”
Grain Craft, based in Chattanooga, operates 15 flour mills with a combined daily capacity of 147,000 cwts, as noted in the 2025 Grain & Milling Annual. In addition to flour milling, Grain Craft also owns Central Milling, an organic flour company, offering both bulk and bagged flour for various industries, including baking, foodservice, pizza, and tortilla production.
For Bunge, the sale represents the end of a 45-year involvement in the U.S. corn milling industry. Bunge initially entered the corn milling market in 1979 through the acquisition of Lauhoff Grain Co. in Danville, marking the company as the largest dry corn miller in the world at that time. Julio Garros, co-president of Agribusiness for Bunge, reflected on the sale, explaining, “We carefully considered how this regional business fits with our long-term plans and made the strategic decision to focus on other areas of our core business that are more strongly connected to our global value chains.”
This sale comes on the heels of Bunge’s announcement of a deal to sell its European margarines and spreads business to Belgian food group Vandemoortele. Additionally, Bunge is awaiting final regulatory approval of its $18 billion acquisition of Viterra, a Netherlands-based agribusiness, in a deal first announced in June 2023.
This move solidifies Grain Craft’s position in the broader food ingredients market while allowing Bunge to continue its strategic focus on its core operations globally.
