AE Portfolio Aggressive Holding GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC, OTC: GRCLF), one of our “Eight Income Wonders from Down Under,” may be the subject of a buyout attempt.

Bloomberg reported Thursday evening on the East Cost of the US that two separate block trades of 22.8 million shares apiece were purchased through Citi at 7:05 Friday morning in pre-market trading Sydney at AUD11.75 per share. That’s a total of 45.6 million shares, or AUD536 million.

GlobalFinance, meanwhile, is reporting that global agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) is responsible for one of the 10 percent-stake trades. According to a trading halt request filed by GrainCorp with the Australian Securities Exchange, GrainCorp has been advised by ADM that the latter bought a stake and that it would like to engage in talks concerning a potential transaction. GrainCorp said no formal proposal has yet been made, though the company would review an offer should one be made.

According to another Bloomberg report, the entity that bought at least a portion of the shares is Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd (Singapore: WIL, OTC: WLMIF, ADR: WLMIY), the world’s bigget palm oil processor. Other businesses for the USD17 billion company include edible oils refining, oilseeds crushing, edible oils processing and merchandising, specialty fats, oleochemicals, biodiesel manufacturing and grains processing and merchandising.

In August GrainCorp agreed to pay about AUD472 million in shares and debt to buy Gardner Smith Group and Goodman Fielder Ltd’s (ASX: GFF, OTC: GDFLF, ADR: GDFLY) Integro Foods to expand its edible oils unit. Wilmar, which is also the largest importer of soybeans into China, had also bought a stake in Goodman Fielder and expressed interest in the Integro unit.

ADM and Wilmar recently received regulatory approvals for their partnerships in global fertilizer and European vegetable oil. The two companies have also launched a partnership in global ocean freight. Wilmar later denied that it had purchased a stake in GrainCorp.

GrainCorp currently has 228.2 million shares outstanding and a market cap of AUD2.019 billion.

Trading in GrainCorp on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has been halted at its request until the opening of trading in Sydney on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

GrainCorp’s top five shareholders include National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB, OTC: NAUBF, ADR: NABZY), which owns 6.5 percent; Sydney-based specialist fund manager Ellerston Capital, which owns 6.4 percent; financial services company IOOF Holdings Ltd (ASX: IFL), which owns 5.2 percent; money manager AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP, OTC: AMLTF, ADR: AMLTY), which owns 4.8 percent; and Deutsche Bank AG (Germany: DBK, NYSE: DB), which owns 4.6 percent.

Other major institutional owners include Dimensional Fund Advisors, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ, OTC: ANEWF, OTC: ANZBY), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA, OTC: CBAUF, ADR: CMWAY), ING Groep NV (Amsterdam: INGA, NYSE: ING) and Deutsche Bank-related DWS Investments.

GrainCorp operates seven of the eight ports that ship grain from Australia’s east coast, enjoying a virtual monopoly on that seaboard. It handles about 60 percent of eastern Australia’s grain crop and has about 20 million metric tons of storage at more than 280 inland grain-handling sites.

We will continue to monitor this situation, with Flash Alerts to follow as develops warrant.

GrainCorp has been a strong performer since its debut as a Portfolio Holding in the very first issue of AE, along with the other seven of our “Eight Income Wonders from Down Under,” generating a total return in US dollar terms through Oct. 18 of 50.05 percent.

The stock, however, is well off its 12-month high of AUD9.86, established on the Australian Securities Exchange on Aug. 17. GrainCorp remains a buy under USD9.50.