Market Currents

• Monday, December 21, 2009

• 12:02 PM Canadian fertilizer maker Agrium's (AGU +2.3%) hostile bid for CF Industries (CF -0.3%), which was to expire Dec. 18, has been extended to Jan. 22. Agrium has a $45 cash-and-stock offer on the table and plans to nominate a slate of directors at CF's 2010 annual meeting. Comment!

• Monday, December 14, 2009

• 07:54 AM Terra Industries (TRA) rejects CF Industries' (CF) latest offer, saying it continues to substantially undervalue Terra, and noting market consensus is shifting to reflect the brighter near- and long-term prospects for the fertilizer sector, which it says aren't reflected in the bid. Comment!

• Monday, December 7, 2009

• 08:28 AM CF (CF), itself the target of a hostile bid from Agrium (AGU), said in a letter to Terra's board that it was "prepared to meet immediately and to sign a merger agreement before the market opens on Monday, December 7th." Last month, Terra shareholders voted to add three people proposed by CF to its board, increasing the chances CF's bid would be successful. Premarket: CF -5.1%. TRA +8.1%. AGU +1.8%. 1 Comment
• 08:24 AM Fertilizer maker CF Industries (CF) raises its bid for Terra Industries (TRA) by $4.75 in cash per share, bringing the value of the hostile takeover bid to $4.58B. CF is now offering $36.75 in cash plus 0.1034 in stock for each Terra share, or $45.91/share - an 18% premium to Terra's Friday close. Terra to review the new bid. Comment!

• Friday, November 20, 2009

• 12:08 PM More developments in fertilizer's three-way "forever war": Terra Industries (TRA +2.8%) investors elect a slate of three directors backed by CF Industries Holdings (CF -0.5%), potentially adding momentum to CF's 2009 campaign to buy Terra. And Agrium (AGU -0.1%) says holders of 62% of CF's shares support its hostile bid for CF - the same number as earlier this year with a $5/share lower offer. 2 Comments

• Monday, November 9, 2009

• 12:24 PM Fertilizer's three-way "forever war" between Agrium (AGU), CF Industries (CF) and Terra (TRA) - Agrium bidding for CF, CF bidding for Terra - may be coming into its endgame. Comment!

• Thursday, November 5, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: LAMR +16%. R +16%. ONNN +8%. DYN +7%. DIRI +7%. IRE +5%. BCRX +5%. NVAX +5%. MGM +5%. PCS +5%. CTIC +4%. CVM +4%. ING +4%. TRA +4%. QCOM +4%. AIB +4%. FNM +4%. CSCO +4%. CNO +4%. AMMD +4%.
  Losers: CVS -10%. AEO -10%. ARO -10%. WFMI -10%. DPTR -9%. BEE -8%. CF -7%. ATPG -7%. ABK -6%. Comment!
• 08:04 AM Agrium (AGU) makes its "best and final offer" for CF Industries (CF) of $45/share in cash, plus one Agrium share - or a total of about $93/share. Agrium's previous offer was $40 plus a share. (PR) CF is itself locked in a battle to take over Terra Industries (TRA). Premarket: AGU +1.6%. CF -6.7%. TRA +5.5%. Comment!

• Wednesday, November 4, 2009

• 08:04 AM Terra Industries (TRA) rejects CF Industries' (CF) latest offer of $24.50/share in cash and another 1/10 of a share in CF, saying it still "significantly undervalues Terra's near term and long term prospects," but says its board remains open to any bona fide opportunity. TRA -1.5% premarket. Comment!

• Monday, November 2, 2009

• 15:29 PM Morgan Stanley's commitment of $2.5B to CF Industries' (CF) bid for Terra Industries (TRA +5.3%) marks the biggest single-bank leveraged loan commitment this year - a big move in a leveraged lending market that fell apart two years ago. Loans to high-yield, high-risk borrowers dropped 89% in that time frame to $90.9B this year. 1 Comment
• 08:50 AM CF Industries (CF) reworks its bid for Terra Industries (TRA +12%), moving to a 80%-cash offer of $4.1B from a previous $3.9B in stock. Terra has rejected all of CF's previous offers. Morgan Stanley (MS), which has been advising CF, has committed a hefty $2.5B to the deal. Comment!

• Wednesday, August 5, 2009

• 10:27 AM CF Industries (CF +0.1%) boosts its all-stock offer for Terra Industries (TRA +4.8%) to $3.7B, a 29% premium to yesterday's close, and also says it's prepared to return at least $1B in cash to TRA shareholders if the deal closes. Meanwhile Agrium (AGU +2.2%) says it remains committed to acquiring CF. Comment!

• Monday, July 27, 2009

• 16:51 PM CF Industries (CF): Q2 EPS of $4.33 beats by $1.72. Revenue of $991M (-15%) vs. $764M. Shares +2.3% AH. (PR) Comment!
• 00:10 AM Notable earnings after Monday's close: ACE, AMGN, CF, FNF, HMA, HXL, KRC, MAS, MTW, OLN, PCL, SLG, TMK, WRB Comment!

• Tuesday, June 23, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: ALVR +15%. PCS +9%. BSX +8%. ETFC +7%. UBS +6%. MTL +5%. OCNF +5%. AAUK +5%. STJ +4%. CENX +4%. CF +4%. ACAS +4%.
  Losers: RMBS -10%. HALO -9%. CTIC -5%. Comment!

• Wednesday, June 17, 2009

• 09:38 AM K+S, Europe's largest potash producer, expects “further significant reduction in revenues and earnings” this year, sending potash stocks down: POT -7.0%, MOS -7.5%, IPI -7.3%, CF -3.7%, AGU -4.7%, SQM -3.1%, SYT -1.8%. Comment!