Fertilizer and ag retail firm Agrium has officially shed its turf and ornamental business in a deal with U.S. producer Koch Fertilizer.
Calgary-based Agrium said Wednesday it has sealed its deal to sell the business to Koch Fertilizer arm Koch Agronomic Services for about $94 million.
When first announced in May, subject to regulatory approvals and “final purchase price adjustments,” the deal’s stated value was $85 million. The $9 million increase takes working capital adjustments into account, the company said.
The sale to Koch was part of Agrium’s strategic review process, completed in 2013, involving the operations of the company’s discontinued Agrium Advanced Technologies (AAT) business unit. [Related story]
“We are pleased to have completed this important step in our ongoing portfolio review process as we work to deliver further shareholder value,” Agrium CEO Chuck Magro said in the company’s release Wednesday.
AAT’s turf and ornamental business marketed slow and controlled-release fertilizers to turf and horticulture markets in the U.S. and Canada.
Agrium’s reorganization of AAT assets saw its agriculture business, including its Environmentally Smart Nitrogen (ESN) product line and its micronutrient operations, transferred back to the wholesale division where it had operated before AAT was set up in 2007.
Koch Fertilizer is part of the Koch Ag and Energy Solutions divisions of Kansas-based Koch Industries, one of the biggest privately-held companies in the U.S. Koch’s other Canadian assets include the former Simplot anhydrous ammonia, urea and UAN plant at Brandon, Man. — AGCanada.com Network
