Agrium Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. have announced that their proposed merger of equals transaction has been approved by India.
An Indian appellate court has approved a settlement reached between the merger parties and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and has directed the CCI to issue a clearance order. Approval by the CCI is conditional on the companies’ commitment to divest PotashCorp’s minority shareholdings in Arab Potash Co. Israel Chemicals Ltd and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. within an 18 month period after the order issuance. The companies are permitted to consummate the merger before the divestments.
The merger has been granted unconditional clearance in Canada, Russia and Brazil. The regulatory review and approval process is still on going in the US and China, and the parties are reportedly expecting to close the transaction by the end of 4Q17.
Once the merger transaction closes, the new company will be called Nutrien. The company will be a major global provider of crop inputs and services, and will play a significant role in ‘feeding the future’ by helping growers to increase food production sustainably.
Source: World Fertilizer
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
