Canadian fertilizer and ag retail giant Agrium’s year-long hostile takeover bid for U.S. rival CF Industries will go on for at least another month.
The Calgary company on Friday again extended the expiration date on its cash-and-stock offer for CF shares, this time until midnight ET, March 22.
Agrium last month extended its bid, worth US$45 plus one Agrium share per CF share, to Feb. 22. As of Thursday afternoon, Agrium said it had about 12.5 million CF shares tendered into and not withdrawn from its offer.
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The extension comes a month after CF abandoned its own year-long hostile bid for another U.S. rival, Terra Industries. Iowa-based Terra recently agreed to an offer from Norwegian chemical and fertilizer firm Yara International.
“The recent Yara merger agreement with Terra illustrates the important benefits of being part of a larger, global company,” Agrium CEO Mike Wilson said in a release Friday.
“We believe CF will recognize this as well, despite the fact that CF has so far ignored a clear mandate from its own shareholders to execute a mutually beneficial merger agreement with us.”
Agrium recently announced it would seek to nominate two independent candidates to CF’s board of directors. Kenny Cordell and Michael Ducey are former directors of U.S. ag retail firm UAP, which Agrium bought in 2008.
Canadian assets at stake in Agrium’s bid include CF’s nitrogen fertilizer facility at Medicine Hat, Alta.
Also, to appease Canadian competition regulators, Agrium arranged a deal to sell a 50 per cent stake in its N fertilizer facility at Carseland, Alta. to Terra, conditional on Agrium winning control of CF.
With that agreement in mind, it’s not known how or if Canadian regulators will respond to the Yara/Terra merger, as Yara already owns the former Saskferco N plant at Belle Plaine, Sask. Terra’s Canadian fertilizer holdings already include an N facility at Courtright, Ont.
