Morocco’s state-run phosphate company OCP has sealed lately a deal for the purchase of a 10 pc stake in Brazil-based company Fertilizantes Heringer S.A for $ 64.95 million.
The deal’s closing is subject to regulatory approvals in Morocco and Brazil.
Heringer and OCP, which controls a third of the international market for phosphate, have also signed a long-term supply agreement of phosphate based products.
Last month, the Moroccan OCP Group, which controls the world’s largest phosphate reserves, raised $1.55 billion in its international bond sale to help finance a $17 billion investment plan.
OCP, the world’s biggest phosphate exporter, intends to invest up to $ 17 billion to increase its global market share of fertilizers from 21 pc to 40 pc by 2020.
OCP is also planning to build four plants in Morocco and Gabon at a total cost of $2 billion to produce fertilizers for African markets intended to meet 30 pc of the continent’s needs.
The phosphate fertilizer market is dominated by key companies such as Yara International ASA (Norway), Agrium Inc. (Canada), Coromandel International Ltd. (India), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (Canada), CF Industries Holdings Inc. (U.S.), Eurochem (Russia), OCP (Morocco), Mosaic (U.S.), ICL (Israel), and Phosagro (Russia).
