(Reuters) -U.S. grains merchant Bunge is close to getting a ruling from Chinese regulators on its $8.2 billion purchase of Glencore-backed Viterra with a verdict expected within days, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The merger, first announced in 2023, would create a global crop trading and processing giant closer in scale to chief rivals Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill.

Regulatory approval in China remains among the last remaining hurdles to the deal's closing.

Bunge and Viterra said in two separate, similarly worded statements to Reuters that the companies were in the final stage of regulatory approval and thanked Chinese officials for "constructive dialogue throughout the review process."

China's commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The deal has secured most global approvals required for the merger, including from the EU and Canada.

The completion deadline, originally scheduled for mid-2024, has been extended multiple times, with the current date set for June 13.

(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi and Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)