Nutrien is a Canadian
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
company based in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
. It is the largest producer of
potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. and the third largest producer of
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
fertilizer in the world.
It has over 2,000 retail locations across North America, South America, and Australia with more than 23,500 employees.
It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol ) and New York Stock Exchange (symbol ), with a market capitalization of $34 billion as of January 2018.
It was formed through the merger of
PotashCorp
The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, also known as PotashCorp, was a company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The company merged with Calgary-based Agrium to form Nutrien, in a transaction that closed on January 1, 2018.
The company was t ...
and
Agrium, in a transaction that closed on January 1, 2018.
History
Merger
PotashCorp and Agrium first proposed merging in September 2016. The merger was suggested in the context of low fertilizer prices, leading to the hope that a larger company will be better able to increase prices.
The new company also hopes to reduce costs through consolidation; it estimates that it will be able to decrease costs by $500 million USD.
The transaction was originally expected to close in mid-2017, but was delayed to January 2018 because of regulatory hurdles; final regulatory approval from the
United States Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ove ...
(FTC) was only received in December 2017. Based on the terms of the merger, former PotashCorp shareholders were given 52% of Nutrien, while Agrium shareholders were given 48%.
Agrium CEO
Charles Magro
Charles Victor "Chuck" Magro is a Canadian business executive who was the former CEO and President of Nutrien. He was the president of Agrium from January 2014 until it completed its merger with PotashCorp to form Nutrien. Prior to his appointme ...
became CEO of the new company, while PotashCorp CEO Jochen Tilk became Executive Chair.
Nutrien is based in Saskatoon, the former headquarters of PotashCorp, but it will maintain corporate offices in
Calgary, the former headquarters of Agrium.
In May 2018, Nutrien announced it would sell to
Tianqi Lithium
Tianqi Lithium Corp (; previously Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Industries, Inc.) is a Chinese mining and manufacturing company based in Sichuan.
As of 2018, the company controls more 46% of the production of lithium worldwide.
Production
World product ...
a 24% stake in the Chilean mining company
Sociedad Química y Minera
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) is a Chilean chemical company and a supplier of plant nutrients, iodine, lithium and industrial chemicals. It is the world’s biggest lithium producer.
SQM's natural resources and its main production f ...
(SQM) for approximately $4.1 billion.
Tianqi was to purchase 62.5 million SQM A shares for $65 each. Nutrien needed to satisfy the Chinese and Indian regulators because of concerns it would corner the potash market.
[https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190227/pdf/4430v0cv3wwr8q.pdf (ASX announcement)] The acquisition was finalized on October 1, 2019, after which Ruralco was delisted from the ASX.[https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20191001/pdf/4492ps2s1b8sfg.pdf (ASX announcement)] After this acquisition, Nutrien now supplies 650 rural merchandise stores in Australia, or approximately 45% of all rural merchandise stores in Australia.[https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/concerns-about-landmark%E2%80%99s-proposed-acquisition-of-ruralco ACCC announcement]
In July 2022, Nutrien announced that it would acquire Brazilian retail fertilizer company Casa do Adubo, increasing its expansion in Latin America.
Competition
Nutrien's main competitors include other potash, phosphate and nitrogen producers, such as The Mosaic Company
The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Tampa, Florida which mines phosphate, potash, and collects urea for fertilizer, through various international distribution networks, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It is the largest U.S. producer ...
, Yara International ASA, CF Industries Holdings Inc and K+S AG.
Carbon footprint
Nutrien reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for 31 December 2020 at 13,160 Kt (-220 /-1.6% y-o-y).[Alt URL]
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Companies based in Saskatoon
Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Fertilizer companies of Canada
Mining companies of Canada
Canadian brands
Canadian companies established in 2018
2018 establishments in Saskatchewan
Chemical companies established in 2018