In a move that looks to take advantage of the rising value of corn as a base ingredient for a broad range of food products, White Plains, N.Y-based Bunge Ltd., an agri-business giant involved in fertilizers, edible oils and milled products, acquired Westchester, Ill.-based Corn Products International (CPI) for $4.8 billion. CPI  produces sweeteners, starches and other ingredients from corn and is projected to post $4 billion in revenue this year.

“Combining with Corn Products provides a unique opportunity for Bunge to establish an integrated, global presence in the corn value chain, which is highly complementary to our existing operations,” said Alberto Weisser, Bunge‘s chairman and ceo. “Corn Products is the leading pure-play franchise in corn refining and will add higher-margin starch and sweetener products to Bunge’s product portfolio, expand our operations in important growth markets, and diversify our revenue stream with a solid cash flow business.” According to Bunge, the global market for sweeteners and starches is growing at approximately 5% per year. Bunge’s sales totaled $44.8 billion last year.