U.S. fertilizer group CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) confirmed Monday that it is in preliminary discussions with Dutch rival OCI N.V. (OCIC) regarding a potential combination involving certain of OCI’s businesses. There can be no assurances that these discussions will result in any transaction.Separately, OCI N.V. confirmed that it is currently holding discussions about possible combinations or transactions.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that CF Industries Holdings was in advanced talks for a merger deal with OCI N.V.
The report had indicated that CF and OCI were in discussions about a tie-up that could be reached as early as this month. The contours of the deal the companies were discussing and its possible terms were unclear, and a transaction may not materialize.
It’s the second time in less than a year that CF has tried to merge with a competitor.
In October 2014, CF Industries and Norwegian peer Yara International ASA have called off their near month long talks on a potential merger of equals transaction as they could not agree on valuation. The deal would have created the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer company.
Source: Nasdaq
