TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian fertiliser company Agrium said on Monday that takeover target CF Industries is still refusing to engage in talks, even though 62% of its shares had been tendered into Agrium's offer by June 23.

"Following a successful stockholder referendum on Agrium's offer and after we reached out to CF and its advisers, CF's chairman and CEO Steve Wilson told me that CF would not meet with Agrium,” Agrium chief Mike Wilson said in a statement.

“Contradicting recent public comments that CF is prepared to engage, he stated to me that 'there is no reason to meet, because nothing has changed'.”

“I do not consider returning my phone calls to say that CF refuses to meet to be engagement and I don't think CF stockholders will either."

Agrium remains committed to completing the acquisition and is “actively considering all available options”.

The company first launched its bid in February, and has increased the offer twice since then. But CF has steadfastly rejected the overtures as inadequate.

After about 30,1-million shares were tendered by the latest midnight June 22 deadline, Agrium extended the offer, of $40 in cash and one Agrium share for every CF share, to midnight on July 22.

CF's Wilson said last week that the tender offer results "do not change the facts that Agrium's offer substantially undervalues CF Industries".

"After a compelling majority of CF shares were tendered by CF stockholders in support of our offer, it is striking that CF would dismiss the results of the tender offer and refuse to make any effort to elicit additional value for their stockholders by engaging with us and demonstrating new value," Agrium's Wilson said on Monday.

"We promised CF's stockholders that if we received a compelling majority in our June 22 tender offer we would press CF to engage with us to negotiate a mutually beneficial combination. We have reached out to the chairman of CF's board and have been rebuffed."

Agrium's offer is conditional on CF abandoning its own hostile takeover bid for the smaller Terra Industries.

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