POTASH: PotashCorp, Agrium make official $36B merger announcement

SASKATOON and CALGARY – Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium have made their merger plans official by announcing certain details on Sept. 12, 2016. The combined business with be the largest crop nutrient company in the world and the third largest resource company in Canada. The move is also expected to increase the availability of low cost, high value products to customers and farmers. A new company is to be formed to hold the assets of both companies. The head office will be in Saskatoon, SK, and executive offices will be retained in both that city and Calgary, AB. The agreement has already been approved by both companies’ boards of directors. The proposed new company will have close to 20,000 employees, operations and investments in 18 countries, and a pro forma enterprise value of US$36 billion. Using last year as the benchmark, the two companies had net revenue of about US$20.6 billion and EBITDA of US$4.7 billion. And that is before potential synergies of US$500 million annually are realized among all the operations. Additional details about the proposed merger are available at www.PotashCorp.com and www.Agrium.com.