Saskatchewan would study a foreign bid for Viterra

Mon, Mar 12 16:16 PM EDT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 12 (Reuters) - Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said on Monday that his government would scrutinize any foreign takeover bid for grain handler Viterra Inc and make a recommendation to the Canadian federal government on whether to approve or reject it.

Viterra, Canada's biggest grain handler, is headquartered in Saskatchewan, a province that is also a major grain producer.

Wall, whose opposition in 2010 is widely seen as persuading Ottawa to block a foreign takeover bid for Saskatchewan-based fertilizer producer Potash Corp, said the province doesn't have any position on Viterra currently because there has not been a formal takeover offer announced.

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Glencore plans three-way Viterra split-source
Fri, Mar 16 10:08 AM EDT

By Victoria Howley

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Glencore is planning a three-way carve-up of Canada's largest grain handler Viterra, an industry source said, to help navigate a politically charged federal review process if it wins the looming bidding war for the company.

Earlier reports said that commodity trading giant Glencore, also bidding for mining group Xstrata, was planning to launch a joint offer with two Canadian companies, privately-owned grain trader Richardson International and fertilizer producer Agrium.

The industry source told Reuters that Glencore would instead buy all of Viterra and then sell its retail fertilizer business to Agrium, with Richardson taking the food processing unit in a rare and complex so-called "back-to-back" transaction.

Viterra said this week it had established a process for considering expressions of interest from parties it declined to name, which sent the stock up 10 percent.

Reuters reported previously that U.S.-based Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland had made approaches along with Glencore.

A foreign takeover of Viterra would be subject to a federal government review to determine whether it is of "net benefit" to Canada. The government vetoed a takeover of Potash Corp by Anglo-Austalian mining giant BHP Billiton in 2010, damaging the country's image as a free market supporter.

Ottawa may be less likely to block a foreign bid for Viterra, however, because its home province of Saskatchewan has already said it doesn't see the company as a strategic resource and does not collect royalty revenues from it, unlike Potash.

Glencore declined to comment.
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Canada's Harper says Viterra bid not 'primarily' foreign
Sun, Mar 25 11:43 AM EDT

* Harper notes many assets will stay in Canadian hands

* Says interest in grain sector "tremendously good thing"

* Opens free trade talks with Japan

March 25 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Sunday that the structure of Glencore's C$6.1 billion ($6.1 billion) deal to buy No. 1 Canadian grain handler Viterra means it should not necessarily be seen as a full foreign takeover.

Harper's comments come as the Canadian government and regulators begin reviewing the offer by Swiss-based Glencore, already the world's No. 1 commodities trader. Glencore plans to acquire Viterra and then sell off some parts to Canada's Richardson International and Agrium.

"My understanding of the deal is that many of the assets will actually remain in Canadian hands, so I'm not sure it really would be categorized at this point as primarily a foreign investment," he told reporters during his official visit to Japan, according to a transcript provided by his office.

"I think the most important thing is that it does show with the reforms we're making to the grain sector how much interest there is now in the expansion of the grain sector and the agricultural sector in Canada, and I think that's a tremendously good thing."

In 2010, Ottawa blocked a hostile bid by Anglo-American miner BHP Billiton for Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp, the world's largest fertilizer maker, stirring concern about whether the government will allow Viterra to fall under foreign control.

But analysts have said structuring the deal to sell the majority of Viterra's Canadian assets and some others to closely held Richardson and Agrium for roughly C$2.6 billion in cash should allay concerns that Ottawa could block it on national sovereignty or competition grounds.

The Glencore-Viterra deal comes after the pro-markets Conservative government led by Harper ended a long-running monopoly by the Canadian Wheat Board on marketing Western Canadian wheat and barley.

Separately, Harper and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced the launch of negotiations towards a free trade agreement. The Canadian government said in statement that a deal could mean gains of up to C$3.8 billion a year in Canadian gross domestic product.

The negotiations will likely be fiercely opposed by the Canadian Auto Workers' union, which represents workers at the Canadian units of General Motors , Ford Motor Co and Chrysler.
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Yara buys 20 pct stake in Canada's IC Potash Group
Mon, Apr 02 02:17 AM EDT

OSLO, April 2 (Reuters) - Norway's Yara said on Monday it had agreed to invest about 40 million Canadian dollars ($40.0 million) in a 19.9 percent stake in Canada's IC Potash Group (ICP) in a private placement transaction.

Yara, the world's biggest nitrogen-based fertiliser maker, said it would aquire 30.13 million common shares in ICP at a price of $1.32 per share.

The firm said it had also entered into an off-take arrangement for 30 percent of all products produced by ICP's Ochoa project in New Mexico for a period of 15 years, and discussed the possibility of establishing a jointly held entity for the purpose of marketing the project's products.

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UPDATE 1-Canada offers more transparency on takeover rules
Fri, Apr 27 12:06 PM EDT

April 27 (Reuters) - The Canadian government promised on Friday to make its reviews of foreign takeovers more transparent, allowing it to explain when it has concerns about a proposed investment and perhaps even saying why.

A government statement said Canada will change the way it reviews foreign investments, a nod to those who have complained about opaque rules that allow the government to block takeovers that it does not think will provide a net benefit to Canada.

"The amendments would allow the minister (of industry) to disclose publicly the fact that he has sent a preliminary notice to an investor that he is not satisfied that the investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada," the statement said.

"They would also allow the minister to publicly explain his reasons for sending the notice as long as it would not cause harm to the Canadian business or the investor."

Canada, which traditionally bills itself as open to business, shocked the international business community in 2010 when it vetoed a takeover bid for fertilizer giant Potash Corp from Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton.

That also prompted concern about what the Conservative government would do if, for example, a foreign company bid for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, a major Canadian technology company that has fallen on hard times as consumers shy away from its smartphones.

Under the Investment Canada Act, the government can review and block any foreign investments worth more than C$312 million ($318 million), a paltry sum in the global mergers game, if it thinks a deal is not in Canada's best interests.

It has exercised that right twice; once with the planned acquisition of a satellite company by a U.S. bidder and in the 2010 bid for Potash Corp.

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