Toronto: Agrium Inc said it will consider buying some of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc's assets should BHP Billiton Ltd seek to sell some following any successful takeover of the Canadian fertiliser company.
"If those assets come out at a value that makes sense for Agrium, of course we would look at them," Chief Executive Officer Mike Wilson said yesterday in an interview. The company is interested in agricultural assets and businesses "in any part of the world," he said.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, this month made a hostile $40 billion (Dh146 billion) bid for Potash Corp as rising global food consumption drives demand for crop nutrients.
BHP may seek to sell the nitrogen and phosphate businesses of the Saskatoon-based company if its bid succeeds, UBS AG analysts led by Glyn Lawcock said in an August 27 report.
"We would be interested in nitrogen, we would be interested in phosphate and we would even love their potash if they wanted to spin some out," Wilson, 59, said in Melbourne.
Agrium, North America's third-largest fertiliser producer by market value, is awaiting approvals to complete a A$1.2 billion (Dh4 billion) bid for AWB Ltd, Australia's largest wheat exporter and No 2 rural services company.
The Calgary-based company has the funds to pursue more acquisitions, Wilson said.
