Nutrien Formed With Merger Of Equals Between Agrium And PotashCorp

(RTTNews) - Nutrien Ltd. (NTR, NTR.TO) announced Tuesday the successful completion of the merger of equals between Agrium Inc. and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. or PotashCorp, creating the world's premier provider of crop inputs and services.

The merger of equals resulted in PotashCorp shareholders receiving 0.40 common shares of Nutrien for each common share of PotashCorp they owned, and Agrium shareholders received 2.23 common shares of Nutrien for each common share of Agrium they owned.

Nutrien common shares will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NTR beginning Tuesday.

Nutrien said it has the largest crop nutrient production portfolio combined with a global retail distribution network that includes more than 1,500 farm retail centers. The company has nearly 20,000 employees and operations and investments in 14 countries.

As previously announced, Nutrien's Board of Directors has equal representation from Agrium and PotashCorp. Jochen Tilk will serve as the Executive Chair, with Derek Pannell as the Board's independent Lead Director.

The company is expected to generate $500 million of annual operating synergies, primarily from distribution and retail integration, production and SG&A optimization, and procurement savings. The company expects to achieve approximately $250 million of these synergies by the end of 2018 with the full annualized run-rate achieved by the end of 2019.

Nutrien intends to target a stable and growing dividend that reflects the anticipated strengthened cash flow profile of the company.

Nutrien intends to provide guidance for the 2018 fiscal year in connection with the reporting of fourth quarter 2017 results of each Agrium and PotashCorp on February 5, 2018.

Chuck Magro, President & Chief Executive Officer of Nutrien, said, "Today we are proud to launch Nutrien, a company that will forge a unique position within the agriculture industry. Our company will have an unmatched capability to respond to customer and market opportunities, focusing on innovation and growth across our retail and crop nutrient businesses."