Welcome to the Morning Meeting, a wrap of need-to-know news on the world of deals -- a world shaken up this morning by news that Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is the target of a hostile bid.
Potash Corp. and the big question Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, the world's biggest fertilizer maker, has rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from BHP Billiton worth almost $39-billion (U.S.), as you can read here.
The board says it's far too little, and won't even enter into talks with BHP. So why disclose the bid at all? The board says it's in the interests of full transparency, but it also effectively puts Potash Corp. in play. Why would the board want to sell now, if, as it says in the letter to shareholders, a cyclical recovery in fertilizer is on the way?
And at the same time, Potash Corp. is putting in a shareholder rights plan or poison pill to protect against unwanted advances. That news release is here.
The upshot is this has the feel of a board that wants to sell, but wants to be in control of the timing and price. What's the betting on the final ticket? Given that the stock was once worth more than $200, one has to believe the board is looking for some old-fashioned commodity boom type pricing, and a battle reminiscent of the fights for Inco and Falconbridge that provided incredible windfalls to shareholders.
What should a quote cost? The brokerage industry is looking to battle the TMX Group Inc. over the price of data, which brokerages say is higher than most anywhere in the world, a cost that investors inevitably must pay. Is there a case? That's the topic of this week's Streetwise column in the hard-copy version of the Globe and Mail.
GM seeks big buyers General Motors Co. is jumping on the trend of seeking so-called cornerstone investors for its initial public offering. Cornerstone buyers are huge institutions that can take big stakes, shoring up the book and lending the offering a sense of stability. Sovereign wealth funds or pension funds could be likely buyers, Reuters reports.
The hard-rock life What's life like as a prospector, and what happens when the big find finally occurs? Globe and Mail mining reporter Brenda Bouw takes a look.
Another hedge fund joins gold rush Eton Park, another big hedge fund, is racing into the gold game with a big stake in a bullion ETF, Bloomberg News reports.