It is reported by Reuters.

The U.S. headquartered company said it recently obtained debt financing for the unit, which it has prepared to operate as a stand-alone company.

Bunge said it plans to keep a controlling stake in the company after the IPO, “enabling it to participate in future value creation driven by the stand-alone company’s growth and cyclical improvement in global sugar market conditions”.

The global sugar market is facing challenging times due to a supply glut that has pushed raw sugar prices to the lowest levels in two and a half years. Many sugar companies in Brazil are facing low profit margins and high debt.

Bunge has tried to sell its eight Brazilian sugar and ethanol plants for four years, but a separate sale process has failed to attract firm interest from strategic or financial investors.

Most of Bunge’s mills in Brazil are located in the northern part of Sao Paulo state and in the south of Minas Gerais state. The company has capacity to process around 22 million tonnes of cane per year.

Bunge entered the sugar and ethanol sector in Brazil in 2010, when it bought the holding Moema Participações, which controlled the then six mills.