Canada’s top antitrust regulator has no quarrel with Agrium’s plans to buy input retailer UAP.
Agrium announced Monday it has received a “no-action” letter from the office of Sheridan Scott, Canada’s commissioner of competition.
A “no-action” letter signifies the commissioner does not plan to intervene in a proposed takeover, which allows it to proceed before a required waiting period expires. The waiting period can last as long as 42 days before a company can go ahead and complete a takeover or acquisition.
That leaves Calgary-based fertilizer maker Agrium waiting for U.S. regulators to either cut short a similar waiting period or allow it to expire under that country’s Antitrust Improvements (Hart-Scott-Rodino or HSR) Act.
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Agrium recently said it expects the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to ask for more information on the two companies’ business, and plans to withdraw and refile its HSR notification with more data, rather than wait for the FTC to make a formal second request for information.
While waiting for approval, Agrium last week extended its tender offer for UAP shares from Jan. 17 to Feb. 25.
Agrium and Colorado-based UAP planned to complete a deal before this summer, and have until Sept. 2 to do so before they must go back to their boards of directors for approval of a new offer.
