Sovereign Potash Bid Not in Saskatchewan's Best Interests, Minister Says

An offer by a state-owned enterprise for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. to rival BHP Billiton Ltd.’s $40 billion bid wouldn’t be in the province’s best interests, Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said.

A state-owned bidder "would be interested in low-priced commodities, and clearly that’s not in the interest of Saskatchewan taxpayers,’’ Boyd said today in a telephone interview.

“Our interests are not in selling cheap commodities," he said. "Our interest is to make sure that we maximize on the resource that we are blessed to have here in Saskatchewan."

Sinochem Group, China’s largest fertilizer trader, made initial inquiries with Potash’s board last month about the possibility of holding talks, a person with knowledge of the matter said last week. BHP, based in Melbourne, took its $130-a- share bid to shareholders after Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. rebuffed an initial approach. The offer was formally rejected last week by Potash’s board, which said it was seeking other bidders.

Boyd said he asked the Conference Board of Canada to conduct a study by Sept. 30 to identify the ‘‘risks and opportunities” to the province from a takeover of Potash Corp. The study will be the basis for the province’s submission to the Investment Canada review undertaken by Industry Minister Tony Clement.

“Within that overview, we want to look at what options are available to us as a government with respect to licensing, regulation and obviously legislation,” Boyd said.

Saskatchewan’s image as a province with a favorable investment climate is also an aspect of the review, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandre Deslongchamps in Ottawa at adeslongcham@bloomberg.net

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