Marubeni buying Gavilon for about $3.6 billion May 29, 2012, 3:30 p.m. Japan's Marubeni Corp. is buying Nebraska-based grains company Gavilon Holdings for about $3.6 billion in a move to capitalize on rising demand in developing nations for grain and fertilizer. Privately held Gavilon owns and runs a grain, fertilizer and energy commodities distribution and storage network. Marubeni buys and distributes various industrial and consumer goods and grains. Marubeni said Tuesday that the acquisition would give it access to more than 140 grain loading sites, a large grain storage and distribution network in the U.S. and sites in regions including Brazil, Australia and Ukraine. It will also give Marubeni the ability to tap into Gavilon's fertilizer terminals and storage and blending facilities in 59 U.S. locations. The acquisition will help Marubeni take advantage of surging global demand for grain and fertilizer as developing nations grow, the company said. Once the deal is complete, Marubeni said it expected to be able to handle 55 million tons of grain annually. Gavilon was created in 2008 when ConAgra Foods sold its commodity trading and grain storage operations to the Ospraie Special Opportunities fund. The private investors paid $1.6 billion in cash and agreed to give ConAgra $525 million in debt securities in the deal. Since 2008, Gavilon's owners have expanded its grain storage network through acquisitions and construction. It now has about 2,000 employees worldwide.