New York City-Last week saw another round of rumors about more fertilizer mergers, especially on Wall Street. Speculation that BHP Billiton might opt to buy a potash company rather than build its own mine continued to circulate. The Mosaic Co. was a beneficiary of this speculation. Meanwhile, reports also circulated that Intrepid Potash Inc. might be a target, with the thinking that it might be a nice addition for Agrium Inc., especially if Agrium is not successful in acquiring CF Industries Holdings Inc. Sources said this would make sense and would likely be able to get past regulators as Agrium is the smallest of the Canadian potash producers. Agrium’s last offer extension for CF expires Sept. 22. As for Intrepid, Agrium said last week it does not respond to rumors. Also last week was speculation PotashCorp was eyeing Germany’s K+S Group. In the meantime, nitrogen giant Yara International ASA again was quoted as saying it is seeking to grow its market share by “organic growth, bolt-on acquisitions and larger acquisitions,” according to CEO Joergen Haslestad in an interview with Dow Jones.
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