PotashCorp Completes Purchase of Additional Sinofert Shares
24 Février 2006 - 12:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Listed: TSX, NYSE Symbol: POT SASKATOON, SK, Feb. 24
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.
(PotashCorp) today purchased an additional 10.01 percent of
Sinochem Hong Kong Holdings Limited (Sinofert) for US $126 million,
completing the exercise of its option on these shares. This raised
PotashCorp's ownership interest in Sinofert to 20 percent and
includes the right to nominate a second member to Sinofert's Board
of Directors. PotashCorp initially purchased 9.99 percent of
Sinofert for $97 million under a Strategic Investment Agreement
signed with a subsidiary of Sinochem Corporation on June 7, 2005.
Sinochem, a member of the Fortune Global 500 for the past 15 years,
had sales of US $20.4 billion in 2004. The initial agreement gave
PotashCorp the right to expand its ownership position in Sinofert
no earlier than January 27, 2006. An announcement of the decision
to exercise this option was made on January 31, 2006. Sinofert is a
leading fertilizer enterprise in the People's Republic of China
(PRC). On December 19, 2005 it released its 9-month earnings of US
$76 million, 51 percent higher than the comparable period in 2004.
One of the largest importers of fertilizer products in the PRC in
terms of import volume, it is the largest distributor of these
products and is also a major producer of phosphate-based fertilizer
products. At the end of November 2005, it had 14 branch offices and
1,036 sales centers as part of an extensive distribution network
that provided products to 76 percent of total sown lands in China.
"This is a significant investment that will have an immediate
positive impact on our company and, more importantly, will provide
significant growth potential for us over the long term," said Bill
Doyle, PotashCorp President and CEO. "We have planted a seed in one
of the most fertile agricultural markets in the world. It is the
beginning of a new generation of opportunity - through the sale of
our products to this key customer and the distribution of all
Sinofert products throughout China. Our long-term shareholders will
benefit from China's expanding economy and its desire to increase
food production." Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. is the
world's largest fertilizer enterprise producing the three primary
plant nutrients and a leading supplier to three distinct market
categories: agriculture, with the largest capacity in the world in
potash, third largest in phosphate and fourth largest in nitrogen;
animal nutrition, with the world's largest capacity in phosphate
feed ingredients; and industrial chemicals, as the largest global
producer of industrial nitrogen products and one of only three
North American suppliers of industrial phosphates. This release
contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and
uncertainties, including those referred to in the company's annual
report to shareholders for 2004 and in filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial
securities commissions. A number of factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward- looking
statements, including, but not limited to: fluctuation in supply
and demand in fertilizer, sulfur, transportation and petrochemical
markets; changes in competitive pressures, including pricing
pressures; risks associated with natural gas and other hedging
activities; changes in capital markets; changes in currency and
exchange rates; unexpected geological or environmental conditions;
and government policy changes. DATASOURCE: Potash Corporation of
Saskatchewan Inc. CONTACT: Betty-Ann Heggie, Senior Vice President,
Corporate Relations, Phone: (306) 933-8521, Fax: (306) 933-8844,
E-mail: , Web Site: http://www.potashcorp.com/
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