Farm Credit Services of America ACA of Omaha has agreed to pay Rabobank Group a $10 million fee to terminate its deal to sell itself to the Dutch giant.
The fee, announced Wednesday, will be paid in four installments of $2.5 million over the next year and will settle all outstanding issues, the two companies said in a press release.
In July the $8 billion-asset Farm Credit Services agreed to sell itself to the $500 billion-asset Rabobank for $600 million. The deal's announcement touched off a storm of protest over whether the government-sponsored lender should be able to sell itself to a private company.
The deal led to a counteroffer from the $3 billion-asset AgStar Financial Services ACA of Mankato, Minn., protests from Farm Credit Services shareholders, and a congressional hearing.
On Oct. 21, Farm Credit Services told Rabobank it wanted to terminate the deal. It also declined the AgStar offer. Jack Webster, Farm Credit Services' president and chief executive officer, resigned Nov. 4. Gene College, its chief financial officer, has been serving as the interim president and CEO, and a search for a new head is under way.
