Compass Lexecon Assists in Obtaining Regulatory Approval for $36 Billion Merger
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Compass Lexecon assisted Agrium and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan in obtaining regulatory approval for their $36 billion merger of equals, which creates the largest crop nutrient company in the world. The merger involved multiple crop fertilizer products, such as nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers, in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, China and India. Between the two companies, they produce roughly half of all potash in North America. Compass Lexecon showed through detailed econometric and other analyses that the proposed merger would not harm competition to supply potash in the United States because of global competition. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared the merger without requiring any potash divestitures. As part of the FTC process, the parties agreed to divest two production facilities, one producing SPA (or superphosphoric acid) and one producing nitric acid. The merger was also cleared with minimal divestiture requirements in China and India.
Compass Lexecon worked with Agrium's counsel, Latham & Watkins LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and PotashCorp's counsel, Jones Day and Stikeman Elliott LLP, to present our economic analyses to competition authorities around the world. The Compass Lexecon team included Jonathan Orszag, Jay Ezrielev, Elizabeth Xiao-Ru Wang, Todd Kendall, Maya Meidan, Bich Ly, Genaro Marquez, Mihir Narain, Rohini Sadarangani, Christopher Rybak, Prerana Nanda, Gloriana Alvarez and Erika Morris, representing Compass Lexecon's offices in Washington, DC, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston.
Compass Lexecon worked with Michael G. Egge, Amanda P. Reeves, Farrell J. Malone, Lindsey S. Champlin, Noel E. Miller, Brady P. P. Cummins, David L. Johnson and Yanyan Yang of Latham & Watkins; Phillip A. Proger, Michael Sennett, Michael A. Gleason and Erin L. Shencopp of Jones Day; Kevin MacDonald, David Dueck and Randall Hofley of Blake, Cassels & Graydon; and Lawson A.W. Hunter and Susan M. Hutton of Stikeman Elliott.