Potash giant begins trading as mega deal closes

Nutrien debuts in New York and Toronto

SASKATOON •

the company formed after the long-awaited merger between Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc., began trading on stock exchanges in Toronto and New York on Tuesday, one day after the multibillion-dollar deal closed.

Shares of Nutrien, which trades under the ticker symbol NTR, ended the day at $69, up $4.55 in Toronto.

Nutrien was formally created on Jan. 1, about 15 months after Saskatoonbased Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc., which was headquartered in Calgary, announced plans to merge in the face of “fierce” market conditions.

The new company has best practices to build a new company that is stronger and better equipped to create value for all our stakeholders.”

The merger saw shareholders receive 0.40 Nutrien shares for each common share of PotashCorp they owned and 2.23 Nutrien shares for each Agrium share they owned.

Nutrien said in a news release that it expects the merger to result in savings, or “synergies,” of US$250 million this year, plus an additional US$250 million in savings the following year. The company said the bulk of those savings will come from distribution and retail integration, the “optimization” of production and administration, and procurement savings.

The corporate office arrangement has come under fire from outgoing Premier Brad Wall, who raised the spectre of BHP’s attempted takeover of PotashCorp in 2010 and said he would not rule out using legislation or potash royalties to maximize the number of head office jobs in the province.

On Tuesday, another prominent Saskatchewan politician joined Wall in raising concerns about whether Nutrien will keep existing corporate office jobs in the province.

Saskatchewan NDP interim leader Nicole Sarauer said it is “very, very concerning” that the company has not gone far enough to provide those assurances.

“We’ve heard very little about what’s going to happen to those Saskatchewan jobs, and we’ve heard little reassurance that those jobs are going to stay in Saskatchewan over the long term,” Sarauer said in a telephone interview.

Richard Downey, Nutrien’s vice-president of investor relations, said in an email that while precise numbers are not available, the company “does expect to maintain or enhance the number of corporate office positions in Saskatchewan, thereby ensuring a vital and vibrant Saskatoon office.”

More details will be available when the company rolls out its “people plan,” which it expects to do later in the first quarter, Downey added. Saskatchewan politicians have raised concerns over Nutrien’s commitment to keeping corporate jobs in the province.