An Agrium fertilizer distribution facility west of Portage la Prairie, Man. (Dave Bedard photo)

Indian regulator warns on Agrium-PotashCorp merger

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s competition regulator said the proposed merger between Agrium and PotashCorp was likely to hurt competition, a government statement said Wednesday. The two Canadian fertilizer producers agreed to merge last September to navigate a severe industry slump by boosting efficiency and cutting costs. Neither Agrium nor PotashCorp have physical presence


An Agrium fertilizer distribution facility west of Portage la Prairie, Man. (Dave Bedard photo)

Agrium forecasts less profitable year than expected

Reuters — Fertilizer maker Agrium, the world’s biggest farm retailer, on Thursday forecast a less profitable year than expected and said its quarterly profit plunged. The Calgary-based company said after normal trading hours that it expects to earn $4.50-$6 per share in 2017. The midpoint of $5.25 fell below analysts’ average estimate of $5.45, according

(Dave Bedard photo)

Potash prices look lower for longer as competition overheats

Reuters — The deepest slump in a decade for the oversupplied potash fertilizer market may abate only slightly in 2017, major producers say, and could take years to correct due to the imminent startup of new mines. PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer producer, forecast a less profitable year on Thursday than analysts expected, and reported

(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp to cut jobs, output as prices sag

Reuters — Fertilizer maker PotashCorp said Wednesday it was reducing jobs and output at one Saskatchewan mine and temporarily curtailing production at two others as the sector struggles with weak prices. The company said it would cut production at its Cory potash mine, just west of Saskatoon, to 800,000 million tonnes a year from 1.4


(Photo courtesy Nutrien)

Agrium posts quarterly loss

Reuters – Agrium, the Calgary-based fertilizer maker that’s in the midst of a merger with PotashCorp, reported a quarterly loss Nov. 3. The company reported a net loss from its operations of $52.2 million, or 39 cents a share in the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. That’s compared to a net profit of $132.5

(Dave Bedard photo)

Agrium/PotashCorp merger set for shareholder approval

Toronto/Winnipeg | Reuters — The shareholders of Agrium and PotashCorp are set to overwhelmingly approve a merger of the two Canadian fertilizer producers, according to a source familiar with the situation, despite initial skepticism from Agrium investors. About 99 per cent of the votes from both groups of shareholders are in favour of the transaction,

(Dave Bedard photo)

Agrium, PotashCorp shareholders vote on merger next month

Reuters — Agrium and PotashCorp shareholders will hold separate meetings next month to vote on a merger agreement between the two fertilizer companies, they said in a filing on Thursday. The all-stock deal would combine Potash’s crop nutrient production capacity, the world’s largest, with Agrium’s farm retail network, North America’s biggest. Agrium shareholders will meet


(CropScience.Bayer.ca)

U.S. lawmakers skeptical of ag chemical, seed merger wave

Washington | Reuters — U.S. lawmakers expressed concern on Tuesday over a wave of mergers among companies that sell farmers their seeds, herbicides and insecticides, worrying that the deals could lead to higher prices and less innovation at a time of dropping farm incomes. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the proposed mergers