Canada’s Nutrien, created through the merger of Agrium and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, on Monday announced the sale of its 28% interest in Arab Potash (APC) to China’s SDIC Mining and Investment for $502-million.
The sale followed last month’s auctioning of its remaining stake in Chile lithium miner SQM for nearly $1-billion as part of pledges to regulators which approved the merger earlier this year.
The Competition Commission of India and the Ministry of Commerce in China have stipulated the sale of the minority stakes in these assets in return for their clearance of the merger, which was completed in January.
Established in 1956 in Jordan as a pan-Arab venture, APC operates under a concession from the government of Jordan that grants it exclusive rights to extract, manufacture and market minerals from the Dead Sea until 2058. In addition to its potash operations, APC also invests in several downstream and complementary industries related to Dead Sea salts and minerals, including potassium nitrate, bromine and other derivatives.