Nutrien Ltd – the newly created company by the merger of Agrium and PotashCorp of Saskatchewan – announced yesterday (3 January) that the transaction had been successfully completed. The company’s common shares are now being traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
The giant transaction results in PotashCorp shareholders receiving 0.40 common shares of Nutrien for each common share of PotashCorp they owned. Agrium shareholders, meanwhile, obtained 2.23 common shares of the newly-formed company for each common share of Agrium they owned. The merger had long been scrutinized by the regulatory bodies in both Canada and the US since Nutrien will have a control of the majority of the fertilizer business in North America.
The new company has the largest crop nutrient production portfolio combined with a vast global retail distribution network that includes more than 1,500 farm retail centers. With almost 20,000 employees worldwide as well as operations and investments in 14 countries, Nutrien’s primary goal is to provide products and services that help growers optimize crop yields and their returns.
The President and CEO of Nutrien, Chuck Magro, commented on the successful completion of the merger that “today we are proud to launch Nutrien, a company that will forge a unique position within the agriculture industry,” adding that “our company will have an unmatched capability to respond to customer and market opportunities, focusing on innovation and growth across our retail and crop nutrient businesses. Importantly, we intend to draw upon the depth of our combined talent and best practices to build a new company that is stronger and better equipped to create value for all our stakeholders.”
