Saskatoon — Potash Corp of Saskatchewan is still considering increasing its stake in Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL). In a meeting with analysts, PotashCorp CEO William Doyle said his company has not given up attempts to buy a larger stake in ICL, but he stressed that this was contingent on getting the necessary backing from government regulatory agencies. PotashCorp currently holds a 13.9 percent stake in ICL, and last December requested permission from the state-owned Corporations Authority to increase the stake to 25 percent. On June 10 PotashCorp informed the authority that it was ceasing efforts to increase its stake, but only days later Doyle indicated otherwise. PotashCorp would require approval from the authority as well as Israel’s Anti Trust Authority for any such transaction. The Israel Corp. controls 52.3 percent of ICL, and the remainder is publicly traded. ICL is a cash cow for the holding company, which also controls a majority stake in Oil Refineries Ltd. and Zim Navigation Lines, both of which have witnessed a sharp drop in profitability in recent years. Last December several local agricultural organizations came out against allowing PotashCorp to increase its stake in ICL. The Plant, Citrus, Vegetable and Fruit Councils jointly issued a statement opposing the move, saying they feared it would enable ICL to further take advantage of its monopolistic position in Israel, and that this could have a detrimental impact on local foods prices as well as export prices for agricultural produce.
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