Rumours of BHP Billiton's interest in acquiring a major potash company just won't go away, as JP Morgan picked up on theme on Tuesday.
Speculation on a blockbuster acquisition in the fertilizer sector by the world's largest miner began last week, when BHP raised more than $6-billion (U.S.) by selling bonds, without giving a clear purpose for the financing. Reporters abhor a vacuum, as The Australian newspaper pumped out an article with a laundry list of potential targets that featured Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan.
On Monday, top ranked Scotia Capital analyst Sam Kanes poured cold water on a possible acquisition of Potash.
As Tuesday dawned, JP Morgan took less definitive view on possible bids for either Potash Corp or Mosaic, with a report that was promptly distributed to Canadian investors by RBC Dominion Securities. JP Morgan analysts said they “believe BHP does view the potash market favourably, as evidenced by its existing development project. However, an acquisition of either Potash or Mosaic would give BHP an immediate presence in top tier assets in this commodity space.”
JP Morgan went on to say that its research team “has some concerns about the potash market in the short term as they believe the potash price has been overheated by supply constraints enforced by major suppliers. However, JP Morgan also believes the long-term dynamics are well supported by population growth.”
For all this noise, there is no indication that BHP is actually serious about any sort of takeover in the fertilizer sector.
