jueves, 16 de julio de 2009

El mercado mundial de fertilizantes se mueve

ElMosaic Climbs After Report Vale May Bid $25 Billion
By Kevin Orland and Helder Marinho
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Mosaic Co., North America’s second- largest fertilizer producer, rose after a Brazilian newspaper reported that Vale SA is preparing a $25 billion bid for the company. Vale shares fell.
Mosaic climbed $4.53, or 10.2 percent, to $49.08 as of 9:15 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares gained 29 percent this year through yesterday. Vale fell 73 centavos to 29.80 reais in Sao Paulo trading.
O Estado de S. Paulo reported Vale’s possible bid today for Plymouth, Minnesota-based Mosaic, without saying where it got the information. BHP Billiton Ltd. is also interested in the acquisition of Mosaic, the Sao Paulo-based newspaper said.
Fernando Thompson, a spokesman for Rio de Janeiro-based Vale, said the company doesn’t comment on market speculation when contacted by Bloomberg News today. Linda Thrasher, a spokeswoman for Mosaic, didn’t immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.
“Mosaic is a little more than what I was expecting”, says Marcel Varejao, an analyst at Sociedade Corretora Paulista, a Sao Paulo-based brokerage. “In a time like this, strategic acquisitions are seen as positive in the long run”.
“Markets are always afraid Vale can make an offer for any company,” said Guilherme Sand, who helps manage the equivalent of $250 million at Solidus Brokerage in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Potash Corp.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. is North America’s largest fertilizer producer by market value.
Mosaic, about 64 percent-owned by privately held Cargill Inc., has been the subject of speculation this year that it may be acquired by BHP. The Melbourne-based company, the world’s largest miner, said in February it may expand its investments in potash, a form of potassium.
Mosaic is the world’s largest maker of finished phosphate products and the second-largest producer of potash by capacity, according to the company Web site. It has three potash mines in Saskatchewan, one in New Mexico and another in Michigan. The company also mines phosphate rock in Florida.
Potash is a form of potassium, a primary agricultural nutrient with phosphorus and nitrogen. Companies such as Potash Corp., Agrium Inc. and Mosaic mine the material.
Vale raised 19.4 billion reais in Brazil’s largest-ever share offering in July 2008. At the time, Chief Executive Officer Roger Agnelli said the proceeds would be used to fund acquisitions and expand existing operations.

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