Potash Corp. Still Open To New Bids

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (AHN) – Potash Corp. Chief Executive Bill Doyle said Thursday the mining firm is still open to new bids despite plans by Saskatchewan officials to block BHP Billiton’s $40-billion offer.

Doyle said he is open to selling the company, based in Saskatoon, to the Australian mining giant, but he said the terms should be at a fair value.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s opposition to the BHP offer, which is the only one so far, is over foreign control of potash, the bulk of which are in the province.

Wall relied heavily on an independent assessment of the BHP offer. The assessment warned that Saskatchewan is bound to lose billions of dollars in potential revenue if Potash accepted BHP’s offer, particularly with expected high demand from China, India and Brazil for potash in the coming years.

Wall has on his side the premiers of Quebec and Alberta, and opposition parties in Ottawa.

Investment Canada has a Nov. 3 deadline to decide on BHP’s offer.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said any decision made by Investment Canada would be based on long-run interest to the Canadian economy.

Potash reported Thursday a 62 percent hike in profit for the third quarter, but because of the possibility of a failed BHP bid, Potash shares fell on Thursday by more than 3 percent.

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