Farmer Co-op Strikes $2.8 Billion Fertilizer Deal With CF

CHS Inc., the largest U.S. farming cooperative, agreed to form a venture with fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings Inc. while scrapping a planned crop-nutrient factory in North Dakota.

CHS will acquire a stake in a CF subsidiary for $2.8 billion, guaranteeing it an annual supply of as much as 1.7 million tons of nitrogen-based fertilizer, the companies said Wednesday in a statement. The cooperative chose the CF deal over building its Spiritwood plant because of faster returns from the venture’s “meaningful” fertilizer position, CHS Chief Executive Officer Carl Casale said by telephone.