OTTAWA - BHP Billiton has extended its takeover offer for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT) by a month after competition authorities requested more information on the bid.
The Anglo-Australian mining giant says it has pushed back the bid's expiry date until Nov. 18 from its previous deadline of Oct. 19.
The extension was deemed necessary after the Canadian Competition Bureau said it needed more details on the US$38.6-billion offer.
The bureau is reviewing whether the hostile bid — if successful — would lessen competition in the Canadian potash sector, a rapidly growing mining industry centred in Saskatchewan.
Potash is a major ingredient in fertilizer and is exported from Canada around the world.
BHP CEO Marius Kloppers is in Canada this week to "personally present the credentials" of his company.
He met Monday with Saskatchewan government officials, but Premier Brad Wall says he still isn't convinced that a takeover of PotashCorp is in the best interests of Canadians.
Kloppers is expected to be in Ottawa on Wednesday.