The European Commission has issued a decision on the acquisition of the Baltic Grain Terminal at the Port of Gdynia by the SBT consortium, which is linked to Denmark’s CM Holding A/S and Switzerland’s Bunge Global. This clears the way for the final lease agreement to be signed and the operator to take over the Gdynia terminal.

On 13 October, the European Commission published its decision on the acquisition of control over the Baltic Grain Terminal at the Port of Gdynia by Denmark’s CM Holding (Copenhagen Merchants) and Switzerland’s Bunge Global. In its announcement, the Commission stated that “the transaction does not raise competition concerns given its limited impact on competition in the markets in which the companies concerned operate”. This means that the way is now effectively clear for the lease agreement between the consortium and the Port of Gdynia Authority to be signed. After several dozen months of deadlock over the grain terminal, its finalisation could now be expected in the near future, although some formalities remain outstanding.

The European Commission’s decision concerns the concentration of companies in terms of competition and the potential risk of market monopolisation. It does not directly approve the 30-year lease agreement itself. Obtaining such clearance is a requirement under EU law.

Bunge Global and CM Holding are international groups involved, among other activities, in the trading and logistics of agricultural commodities. Both operate worldwide. Neither submitted a direct bid in either of the tenders for the lease of the grain terminal at the Port of Gdynia. The bidder was the SBT consortium, comprising Szczecin Bulk Terminal and the companies Tapini and Ribera. According to their respective Polish Classification of Activities (PKD) codes, the latter two companies operate primarily as consultancy firms.

CM Holding is the majority shareholder in both Szczecin Bulk Terminal and Ribera, holding 51% of the shares in each. The remaining shares are held by Bunge through Koninklijke Bunge. Meanwhile, the ownership structures of Tapini and Ribera include the holding company Renaisco, which owns 100% of Tapini and 49% of Ribera. Renaisco itself belonged to another international group, Viterra, which was acquired in its entirety by Bunge in July 2025. According to data from Poland’s National Court Register (KRS), the sole member of the management boards of Tapini and Ribera is Grzegorz Sobczyński, who is also a board member of Bunge Polska and Bunge Szczecin, formerly Viterra Szczecin.

This means that, through the ownership structures of the companies making up the SBT consortium, control of the Gdynia terminal will pass to CM Holding and Bunge Global. These are the companies named in the merger notification submitted to the European Commission on 7 September 2026.

The Port of Gdynia Authority held two tenders for the lease of the grain terminal. SBT won both, but the first tender was subsequently cancelled after agricultural organisations in Poland raised concerns about the potential monopolisation of the market. The Ministry of Infrastructure formally refused to approve the signing of the agreement. Following SBT’s victory in the second tender, the ministry agreed to the transaction, and approval by the relevant European Commission authority was one of the most important remaining formalities. Last July, the consortium and the Port of Gdynia Authority had already signed a preliminary agreement for a 30-year lease of the terminal.

Photo: GospodarkaMorska.pl/MarinePoland