Saskatoon—Lower fertilizer company share prices continue to spur speculation that it may be a good time to try and take over a fertilizer company. “This stock is getting to a point where somebody with a lot of cash who’s in a business that may not have the secular growth that an ag business does, should be looking,” CLSA Analyst Mark Connelly told Bloomberg last week, referring to Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. stock. PotashCorp said it did not respond to speculation. “If it continues to slide,” said Connelly, “it will be taken out.” However, he noted the moves that potash producers have been taking to balance the market, and said agriculture tends to be more in 3-4 year slumps, with the secular outlook still good. Other recent analyst speculation has had PotashCorp buying up Intrepid Potash Inc., partly to shutter its potash production, though that company is moving to take down its own higher cost production (see page 1). BCMI Research Analyst Chris Damas last week suggested that the three Canadian potash producers might have too many antitrust issues to make a play for Intrepid, but suggested that it might be a natural fit for Compass Minerals, which could utilize Intrepid’s Moab and Wendover, Utah, assets, in particular.
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