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
The deal includes the 600kt Acetic Acid plant and all associated third party activities on the site. Eastman and INEOS have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore options for a long-term supply agreement for vinyl acetate monomer.
The Supervisory Board of Borealis has accepted the decision of Lucrèce Foufopoulos-De Ridder, EVP Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology to step down from her executive position at Borealis, and the Board of Borouge Pte effective 31 December 2023 to pursue other career opportunities.
Sidel has launched a new 100% rPET bottle base, StarLiteR, aiming to help carbonated soft drink (CSD) packaging producers embrace material circularity. StarLiteR allows CDS producers to switch to rPET bottle production easily and efficiently, while significantly reducing the impact on product quality or packaging integrity.