Potash Corp. Withdraws Takeover Bid For K+S

(RTTNews) - Canadian fertilizer giant Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, Inc (POT, POT.TO) said Sunday that it has withdrawn its $8.6 billion offer to acquire German potash maker K+S Aktiengesellschaft (SDFG), citing challenging macroeconomic conditions and a lack of engagement by the target company's management.

Jochen Tilk, President and CEO of Potash Corp said, "....challenging macroeconomic conditions have contributed to a significant decline of global commodity and equity markets, with potash peer stocks down almost 40 percent. In light of these market conditions and a lack of engagement by K+S management, we have concluded that continued pursuit of a combination is no longer in the best interests of our shareholders."

Potash Corp said it will continue to focus on its disciplined growth strategy and believes it is well positioned to capture future opportunities.

In early August, K+S rejected Potash Corp's unsolicited acquisition offer for the second time, indicating it as unreliable and not reflecting the actual value of the company. K+S, which is developing a mine in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, rejected the offer as too low as it does not take into account the potential synergies of the two companies.

In a communique to the board of K+S, Potash Corp had proposed an unsolicited business combination with an unchanged price of 0.41 euros a share. In June, Potash Corp made an unsuccessful bid for K+S, also at 0.41 euros a share, for a total value of 7.9 billion euros, or $8.6 billion.

Potash Corp's relentless pursuit of K+S came amid lower prices for potash after the break-up in mid 2013 of an industry cartel that helped shape global prices. An earlier bid in 1997 by Potash Corp to buy K+S was scuttled by the German competition watchdog.

POT closed Friday's trading at $20.50, up $0.80 or 4.06 percent on a volume of 7.11 million shares. In after hours, the stock further gained $0.01 or 0.05 percent to $20.51.

On Frankfurt's Xetra, K+S shares closed Friday's trading at 31.00 euros, up 0.06 euros or 0.19 percent on a volume of 1.64 million shares.