The board of directors of Allied Cooperative, headquartered in Adams, Wisc., and Arcadia Co-op, headquartered in Arcadia, Wisc., have signed a letter of intent for a merger. The co-ops announced on June 9 that they will complete a feasibility study over the next several weeks. Pending the results of this study, member meetings will be set up and ballots sent to Arcadia’s voting members later this summer. If approved, the merger will be effective Dec. 1, 2014.

“We believe the merger is a natural fit,” said Bob Boberg, Arcadia Co-op general manager. “With an increasingly competitive and ever-changing marketplace, a strong cooperative will help to protect our members equity while ensuring that our members have the products and services they require. The two cooperatives share the same vision and commitment to our customers, employees, and the communities we serve. Together our goal is to become an even stronger cooperative for future generations by combining our talents, staff, and resources.”

Arcadia is a $30 million cooperative with bulk fuels, LP, agronomy, and feed operations. It also has a convenience store and an automotive service center. Allied Cooperative is a $230 million cooperative that serves customers throughout central and western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. Allied has six divisions: agronomy, energy, feed, grain, transportation, and retail. They have operations in Adams, Blair, Galesville, Mauston, Melrose, Mindoro, Plainfield, Plover, Tomah, West Salem, Wisconsin Dells, and Wisconsin Rapids.

A senior Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. official has hinted that the company is considering the sale of its 14 percent stake in Israel Chemicals Ltd., according to a report on June 10h in the Calcalist economic daily. The report quoted PCS CFO Wayne Brownlee as saying that PCS has no intention of holding to its ICL shares indefinitely.

Brownlee made the statement in a comment on the recommendations of the government appointed committee on tax and royalty payments by companies utilizing Israel’s natural resources. Last month the committee headed by Professor Eitan Sheshinski recommended that a uniform royalty payment of 5 percent on potash, phosphates and other minerals and a “windfall tax” on natural resources. The proposal called for imposing a 42 percent surtax on excess profits would be levied on net profits above an 11 percent return on investment.

The recommendations are expected to cost ICL over $100 million annually once they are implemented. More than a year ago PotashCorp tried to merge with ICL but the move was thwarted due to strong opposition from Israel’s Finance Minister Yair Lapid and from the unions at ICL.

PCS owns a 13.84 percent stake in ICL which has a current value of $1.55 billion. Brownlee was quoted as saying that any sale would not be in the short term and in any case not on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Such a move would likely send ICL’s share price down sharply. He said it would depend on the conditions and whether it created value for PotashCorp investors. ICL shares fell by 1.5 percent in trading on the TASE on the report.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. has made major senior leadership announcements, including:

Michael Hogan, president, PCS Potash, has elected to retire effective June 30, 2014. Taking over as president effective July 1, 2014 will be Mark Fracchia current vice president, Safety, Health and Environment.

Brent Heimann, president, PCS Phosphate & PCS Nitrogen, will assume the PotashCorp-appointed role of general manager, Arab Potash Co. (APC) in Amman, Jordan. He will hold a seat on the APC board of directors.

Raef Sully, vice President, Project Management & Capital, will be promoted to president, PCS Nitrogen and will oversee the nitrogen facilities and major capital projects.

Paul Dekok, vice president, Phosphate, will be promoted to President, PCS Phosphate and will oversee the Phosphate and Feed facilities.

“Mike has been an important member of our senior management team and has made tremendous contributions to PotashCorp’s success over the past 24 years,” said David Delaney, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We thank Mike for his years of dedicated service and wish him all the best in the future.”

“We have great bench strength and these appointments exemplify the leadership depth of our company,” added Delaney. “Mark, Brent, Raef and Paul have built a track record of delivering results and are well positioned to succeed in these important roles.”

The Mosaic Co. announced on May 29 that its president and CEO, James T. Prokopanko, is taking an anticipated medical leave of absence for surgery to treat his previously disclosed cancer (GM March 24, p. 10). The company’s board of directors has named Lawrence W. Stranghoener, 60, as interim CEO during Prokopanko’s absence, effective June 1, 2014. Stranghoener has served as Mosaic’s executive vice president and CFO since the company’s formation in 2004.

“It is in Mosaic’s best interest, and mine, that I focus on my health during the six- to eight-week period that my doctors tell me I should expect to be out of the office for surgery and recovery,” Prokopanko said. “This surgery has been part of the original plan laid out by my medical team and I am eager to take this next important step in my treatment. Larry is an outstanding leader who enjoys the deep respect of our employees and other stakeholders. I will make myself available to him and the rest of our management team, as needed, during my leave. I am looking forward to actively re-engaging in the day-to-day activities of the business once I have recovered from surgery.”

“The entire board continues to wish Jim the very best and is grateful for his thoughtful and open approach,” said Robert L. Lumpkins, chairman of Mosaic’s board of directors. “We have great confidence in Jim, Larry, and the rest of the talented management team. We are looking forward to Jim’s full-time return to Mosaic this summer.”

Mosaic also announced that Stranghoener intends to retire at the end of 2014, and that the board has named Richard L. Mack, 46, as executive vice president and CFO effective June 1, 2014. Upon Prokopanko’s return, Stranghoener will serve as executive vice president, Strategy and Business Development, until his retirement, as which time his business development and strategy responsibilities will be assumed by Mack.

Mack is currently serving as executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. He has served as Mosaic’s general counsel since the company’s launch in 2004. In the decade prior to Mosaic’s formation, he served in various capacities at Cargill Inc., where he played an instrumental role in the negotiations that created Mosaic and served as a founding executive of the company.

In addition to his general counsel responsibilities, Mosaic said Mack provides oversight of the company’s phosphate mine permitting and land activities, heads Mosaic’s enterprise risk management initiatives, serves on the board of directors of Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Company, and envisioned and leads Streamsong Resort. He holds a BS in accounting from Minnesota State University-Moorhead, a Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

“I am very proud of the exceptional team and business we have built over the past decade at Mosaic, and appreciate Jim’s and the board’s confidence in me,” said Stranghoener. “Rich will be an excellent CFO for this company. He is a gifted strategic thinker, has been an exceptional partner on virtually every important finance matter impacting Mosaic over the past 10 years, and has a proven talent for getting things done. I am honored to step in until Jim’s return. I look forward to supporting Rich’s transition into his new role and then enjoying the opportunity to spend more time with my family and pursuing my other passions during retirement.”

“Larry is leaving very big shoes to fill,” said Mack. “His leadership has been integral to every meaningful step Mosaic has taken – from our newly-formed, non-investment grade days to the fully-independent, high-performing company

PCS Sales has announced new potash prices for the summer fill season. Effective May 28, the company’s potash postings FOB Saskatchewan mines moved to $345/st for standard, $350/st for granular, and $357/st for soluble sales to U.S. customers.

PCS’s warehouse postings for granular potash moved on that date to $390/st FOB St. Louis, Mo.; Iowa terminals at Fort Dodge and Waterloo; Illinois terminals at Colfax, Danville, Lena, Marseilles, Seneca, and Springfield; Indiana terminals at Burns Harbor, Delphi, Crawfordsville, Jeffersonville, and Walton; and Ohio terminals at Crestline and Maumee.

The new levels reflect a $20/st increase from the company’s Feb. 3, 2014, published prices.