Agrium Rises After Activist ValueAct Amasses Stake
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Agrium Inc., the Canadian fertilizer and seeds retailer that last year fended off an activist shareholder, rose the most in more than five years after ValueAct Capital Management LLC disclosed a 5.7 percent stake.
ValueAct sees Agrium as poised to benefit from an expected recovery in crop prices in 2016, the activist hedge fund’s Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Ubben said in an e-mailed response to questions today. They have been in talks for months and ValueAct hasn’t made any demands for a spinoff of its retail business, Richard Downey, a spokesman for Calgary-based Agrium, said today by phone.