Oslo-Yara International ASA said April 22 that it has sold its indirect holding in SQM with a profit before tax of approximately US$80 million. Since 2001, Yara has held an indirect equity share of the Chilean mining company, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (SQM), through the Chilean intermediate holding companies Pampa Calichera, Oro Blanco, Norte Grande, and SQYA, currently equal to approximately 8 percent on a fully diluted basis. Yara has decided to sell its ownership in SQM to entities controlled by its partner, Sr. Julio Ponce. Yara said SQM’s successful development of its iodine and lithium businesses has increasingly exposed Yara to businesses other than fertilizer. The shares have therefore been sold to re-deploy funds to Yara’s focused growth areas. Also since 2001, Yara has had a global marketing agreement for specialty fertilizers produced by SQM, which it says has been very successful for both parties. The sale of the shares will have no impact on the marketing agreement, which both parties continue to see as mutually beneficial.
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