Agrium keen on Potash's assets
By Bruce Hextall |
August 31, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CANADA'S Agrium Inc said it would be interested in Potash Corp's nitrogen and phosphates business, worth an estimated US$12 billion, if miner BHP Billiton secures its US$39 billion Potash takeover and decides to sell the assets.
Agrium CEO Mike Wilson said yesterday his fertilizer and agricultural firm was strong financially and would look at any assets up for grabs. His comments came after BHP told analysts it could look to divest Potash's nitrogen and phosphates operations.
"We are a global company that produces 8 million metric tons of nitrogen, phosphate and potash, so any assets that came on the market that fits with us we would certainly look at," Wilson told Reuters in an interview.
Wilson was in Australia to finalize his company's US$1 billion takeover of local wheat exporter AWB Ltd.
BHP Billiton is chasing Potash Corp to become the world's largest potash supplier, with nearly a quarter of the global market. Potash Corp formally rejected the offer last week and BHP now has to woo the Canadian company's shareholders.
With its takeover offer - the largest in any industry this year - BHP aims to vault to the top of a rebounding fertilizer industry, as the economies and populations of Asian powerhouses like China and India rapidly expand, lifting demand for crop nutrients.
BHP has lined up US$45 billion in debt for the bid, and Chief Executive Marius Kloppers has said it does not need to sell any assets to help fund the deal.
But the prospect of recouping some of the outlay through divestments could be appealing for investors worried about BHP moving into a new and untested sector for the company.
Analysts estimate Potash Corp's phosphates business is worth around US$7 billion and its nitrogen business valued at about US$5 billion.
Agrium CEO Mike Wilson said yesterday his fertilizer and agricultural firm was strong financially and would look at any assets up for grabs. His comments came after BHP told analysts it could look to divest Potash's nitrogen and phosphates operations.
"We are a global company that produces 8 million metric tons of nitrogen, phosphate and potash, so any assets that came on the market that fits with us we would certainly look at," Wilson told Reuters in an interview.
Wilson was in Australia to finalize his company's US$1 billion takeover of local wheat exporter AWB Ltd.
BHP Billiton is chasing Potash Corp to become the world's largest potash supplier, with nearly a quarter of the global market. Potash Corp formally rejected the offer last week and BHP now has to woo the Canadian company's shareholders.
With its takeover offer - the largest in any industry this year - BHP aims to vault to the top of a rebounding fertilizer industry, as the economies and populations of Asian powerhouses like China and India rapidly expand, lifting demand for crop nutrients.
BHP has lined up US$45 billion in debt for the bid, and Chief Executive Marius Kloppers has said it does not need to sell any assets to help fund the deal.
But the prospect of recouping some of the outlay through divestments could be appealing for investors worried about BHP moving into a new and untested sector for the company.
Analysts estimate Potash Corp's phosphates business is worth around US$7 billion and its nitrogen business valued at about US$5 billion.
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