By Josh Beckerman

Archer Daniels Midland Co. has agreed to sell its 19.9% stake in Australian grain merchant GrainCorp Ltd. for about 387 million Australian dollars ($287 million).

Commodity trader ADM said the sale will provide cash that it can use for higher-return investments.

Media reports in July said ADM attempted and cancelled a sale of the stake. ADM bought its 19.9% interest in GrainCorp in 2012 and hoped to buy the whole company, but Australia's government blocked that effort in 2013.

ADM will sell its GrainCorp shares for A$8.53 each.

On Nov. 1, ADM reported a higher third-quarter profit and said its agriculture services unit posted strong results driven by a surge in U.S. exports.

In after-hours trading, ADM was flat at $44.31.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2016 17:20 ET (22:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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