Rumour rumour rumour
Rumours of
BHP Billiton's interest in Canadian potash have taken a twist with shares in Germany's
K+S rising on Friday after rumours that
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan – a perennial BHP takeover favourite – could make a €50 a share bid for the Kessel-based salt and fertiliser company. K+S, which used to be known as Kali und Salz, closed at €36.50 per share. Neither party would comment on the speculation and rumours being rumours, K+S itself has been speculated to be interested in buying Potash Corp, along with BHP plus state-owned
Indian Potash, Russia's
Silvinit and
Uralkali, also of Russia. There's also been plenty of speculation recently on US fertiliser business
The Mosaic Company and the fates of
Potash One and
Athabasca Potash. And finally,
The Australian has reported on long-running rumours about a $1 billion merger between BHP and
Rio Tinto's diamond operations in northern Canada. The newspaper says that BHP has sent a group of employees up into the icy wilds of the Northwest Territories to see how such a tie-up could proceed.
https://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/BREAKFAST-DEALS-Consolidated-Crown-pd20090907-VMSM9?OpenDocument&src=sph