- Agrium (AGU) execs plans to meet with reluctant shareholders next week in Toronto to support its proposed merger with Potash Corp. (POT), seeking to ease concerns that the new company would be too linked to the crop nutrient potash, which has fallen this year to decade lows on oversupply and tumbling crop prices.
- AGU shareholders generally dislike the deal; shares slumped 6% from Monday's deal announcement to yesterday before bouncing a bit today.
- AGU's farm retail business, currently worth 48% of EBITDA, would account for just 19% of the new company, a level that dismays some shareholders.
- To be sure, some shareholders like the idea of creating a crop nutrient champion with nearly 3x the enterprise value of the next biggest fertilizer company.