From the Globe and Mail:
China is emerging as the pivotal player in discussions around a bid for Potash Corp. (POT-T155.331.991.30%) that would be rich enough to rival giant miner BHP Billiton Ltd.’s $38.6-billion (U.S.) hostile offer.
A handful of state-owned Chinese companies, including chemical conglomerate Sinochem Group and energy firm China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC Ltd.), is considering a potential bid for the world’s largest potash producer. China’s goal is to secure a significant share of the crop nutrient that has become crucial to the agricultural sector as the country of 1.3 billion increasingly taps its farmland to meet fast-growing demand for food.
Over the past week, teams of North American bankers have travelled to China to pitch potential bidders their ideas of how to rival BHP’s $130-a-share, all-cash offer, which has been rejected by Saskatoon-based Potash Corp. as too low.
Government officials are prepared to back an offer, and Sinochem and CNOOC are the likely leaders of possible bid structures under consideration, according to people familiar with the situation.
