Bunge vs Volkswagen: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Bunge and Volkswagen side by side

1. 1818Bunge

   Bunge & Co. founded in Amsterdam

   Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge set up Bunge & Co. in Amsterdam as an import-export trading house, the business that still carries his name.

2. 1859Bunge

   Edouard Bunge moves the firm to Antwerp

   The founder's grandson Edouard Bunge relocated the company to Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's busiest ports for colonial and grain trade.

3. 1884Bunge

   Bunge y Born launched in Argentina

   Ernest Bunge and the Born family started a grain trading company in Buenos Aires as Argentina emerged as a major grain exporter. Bunge y Born grew into elevators, flour mills and export logistics.

4. 1905Bunge

   Expansion into Brazil

   Bunge extended its South American business into Brazil, which later became its most important origin for soybeans.

5. 1918Bunge

   Trading begins in North America

   Bunge started trading in North America, the world's largest agricultural market.

6. 1937Volkswagen

   Volkswagen founded

   Volkswagen was founded under the German Labour Front as part of a state-directed people's car program.

7. 1945Volkswagen

   Wolfsburg restarted

   British military administration helped restart peacetime production at Wolfsburg after World War II.

8. 1965Volkswagen

   Audi foundation added

   Volkswagen acquired Auto Union from Daimler-Benz, creating the foundation for modern Audi.

9. 1974Volkswagen

   Golf production begins

   The Golf gave Volkswagen a modern front-engine, front-wheel-drive compact platform after the Beetle era.

10. 1997Bunge

    Ceval makes Bunge Brazil's top soy processor

    After a 1993 to 1997 restructuring that refocused the group on agribusiness, Bunge acquired Ceval, the largest soybean processor in Brazil. Acquisitions and organic growth over the next seven years made it the largest soy processor in South America.

11. 2001Bunge

    NYSE listing and a US headquarters

    Bunge Limited listed on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2001 under the ticker BG and moved its headquarters from São Paulo to the New York area, ending 183 years of private ownership.

12. 2002Bunge

    Cereol acquisition

    Bunge bought 55 percent of French oilseed processor Cereol from Italy's Edison for ~$508 million (449.2 million euros) and then the publicly held shares.

13. 2005Bunge

    First soybean plant in China

    Bunge opened its first soybean processing plant in China, the world's largest soybean importer.

14. 2010Bunge

    Entry into sugar and ethanol

    Bunge entered the sugar business in Brazil, a diversification it later moved into a joint venture with BP in 2019 and exited in 2024.

15. 2012Volkswagen

    Porsche consolidated

    Porsche became a controlled sport-luxury profit anchor within Volkswagen Group.

16. 2015Volkswagen

    Matthias Müller becomes CEO

    Matthias Müller became CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2015. Chief executive of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft from 2015 to 2018.

17. 2015Volkswagen

    Emissions Scandal

    US regulators accused Volkswagen in September 2015 of fitting diesel cars with software that cheated emissions tests.

18. 2018Bunge

    Loders Croklaan and a bicentennial

    Bunge completed its purchase of 70 percent of IOI Loders Croklaan, a specialty palm and tropical oils business, for $946 million, and marked 200 years since its founding.

19. 2018Bunge

    Activist investors reshape the board

    Under pressure from investors D.E. Shaw and Continental Grain, Bunge added three directors in October 2018, including Gregory Heckman. On 10 December 2018 it said CEO Soren Schroder would step down.

20. 2018Volkswagen

    Herbert Diess becomes CEO

    Herbert Diess became CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2018. Chief executive of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft from 2018 to 2022.

21. 2019Bunge

    Gregory Heckman becomes CEO

    Heckman was named acting CEO on 22 January 2019 and appointed chief executive in April 2019, starting a review of the portfolio and a shift to global value chains.

22. 2019Bunge

    Headquarters move to St. Louis and BP sugar venture

    Bunge moved its global headquarters from White Plains, New York, to the St. Louis area and combined its Brazilian sugar and bioenergy business with BP's in a 50/50 joint venture.

23. 2021Bunge

    Chevron renewable feedstock venture announced

    Bunge and Chevron announced a joint venture to supply soybean oil for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel from Bunge's crushing plants in Destrehan, Louisiana, and Cairo, Illinois.

24. 2022Volkswagen

    Oliver Blume becomes chairman

    Oliver Blume became chairman of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2022. He also ran Porsche AG alongside the group role until Michael Leiters took over as Porsche CEO on January 1, 2026, leaving Blume focused on Volkswagen Group.

25. 2023Bunge

    Added to the S&P 500

    Bunge replaced Signature Bank in the S&P 500 effective 15 March 2023.

26. 2023Bunge

    Viterra merger agreed

    On 13 June 2023 Bunge agreed to combine with Viterra, the grain handler owned by Glencore, CPP Investments and British Columbia Investment Management, for Bunge shares and about $2 billion in cash.

27. 2023Bunge

    Redomiciled to Switzerland

    Bunge moved its place of incorporation from Bermuda to Switzerland in November 2023, becoming Bunge Global SA with a registered office in Geneva while keeping its headquarters in St. Louis.

28. 2024Bunge

    Exit from sugar and bioenergy

    On 1 October 2024 Bunge completed the sale of its 50 percent stake in BP Bunge Bioenergia to bp, a stake valued at about $1.4 billion in enterprise value.

29. 2024Volkswagen

    Rivian software joint venture

    Volkswagen and Rivian launched a software joint venture targeting next-generation electrical architecture.

30. 2025Bunge

    Canada approves the Viterra deal with conditions

    Canada's government approved the merger on 14 January 2025, requiring Bunge to sell six Western Canadian grain elevators, invest at least ~$374 million (C$520 million) in Canada within five years and keep a Canadian head office in Regina.

31. 2025Bunge

    North American corn milling sold

    Bunge completed the sale of its North American dry corn and corn masa milling business to flour miller Grain Craft on 1 July 2025.

32. 2025Bunge

    Viterra merger completed

    The Viterra merger closed on 2 July 2025 after China's approval. Glencore received about 32.8 million Bunge shares, 16.4 percent of the enlarged company, and about $900 million in cash.

33. 2025Volkswagen

    Revenue reaches ~$364B (EUR321.9B)

    Volkswagen reported ~$364 billion (EUR321.9 billion) in sales revenue, ~$10.1 billion (EUR8.9 billion) in operating result, and 8.984 million deliveries.

34. 2026Bunge

    IFF soy protein and lecithin businesses acquired

    On 2 March 2026 Bunge closed its purchase of IFF's soy protein concentrate, lecithin and soy crush businesses, including the Response, Alpha, Procon and Solec brands.

35. 2026Bunge

    Investor Day sets 2030 earnings target

    At its 10 March 2026 Investor Day Bunge set a mid-cycle EPS baseline of about $13, a goal of at least $15 by the end of 2030 and a new $3 billion share repurchase programme.

36. 2026Bunge

    Guidance raised after a strong second quarter

    Bunge reported second-quarter net income of $678 million on 29 July 2026, completed its $2 billion Viterra-related buyback and raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $9.25 to $9.75.

37. 2026Bunge

    Sugar mills to be sold to COFCO International

    On 1 September 2026 Bunge agreed to sell the Rio Vermelho and Nova Unialco sugarcane mills in São Paulo state, inherited from Viterra, to COFCO International, subject to regulatory approval.

Acquisitions

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