Agrium Makes "final" Offer For CF Industries

The Associated Press

The fertilizer industry's unfriendly takeover wrangling continued Thursday as Agrium Inc. sent letters to shareholders of competitor CF Industries Holdings Inc., encouraging them to take its "final" buyout offer.

Agrium, based in Calgary, Alberta, asked CF Industries shareholders to tender their shares by Nov. 18 "to send a clear message to the CF board that you want to receive a premium, not pay one."

Agrium said it will consider all options including litigation and nominating a slate of directors to the CF Industries board if it receives resounding shareholder support.

Agrium said its most recent offer of $45 cash and one share of Agrium stock for each CF share amounts to $97.47 per share, or about $4.9 billion, based on closing share prices of Nov. 11.

The company said the revised offer is a 106 percent premium to CF Industries' Jan. 15 price and 75 percent to the share price on Feb. 24, the day before Agrium announced its first proposal.

Since February, the company said it has increased its offer 36 percent.