BHP BILLITON this week gave up on its hostile takeover battle for Rio Tinto in the wake of recent plunges in commodity values, leaving concerns over competition from European regulators unaddressed. Some fertilizer industry watchers said the end of the takeover fight could mean that both companies should be expected to go forward with separate plans to develop new potash mines in Canada and Argentina. Some analysts doubted a merged BHP/Rio would have been committed to so much new potash construction. The companies' plans could exceed 4m tonnes of new potash capacity each.
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