Yara International (Oslo) has agreed to buy competitor Terra Industries for $4.1 billion, just weeks after CF Industries Holding aban- doned its hostile bid to buy Terra. The acquisi- tion is a major consolidation in the global fertil- izer industry and will significantly strengthen Yara's presence in the U.S. The combined busi- ness will trade under the Yara name and it will have 8%-9% of the global fertilizer market. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. "Yara is committed to the U.S. market and this transaction presents an attractive opportunity for both companies to strengthen their positions in the U.S. , Yara's CEO Jorgen Ole Haslestad says. The transac- tion will be partially funded by a rights issue worth between $2 billion-$2.5 billion, Yara says. The Norwegian government, which owns 36.2% of Yara, will participate in the issue, the company says. The transaction is planned to close in June 2010 and it is not subject to financing conditions other than the approval by Yara's general meeting of the rights issue, which is expected in May.
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