Nutrien Closes the Sale of SQM A Shares to Tianqi Lithium
December 05 2018 - 8:06AM
Business Wire
Nutrien Ltd. (“Nutrien”) announced today that it has closed the
sale of its remaining Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A.
(“SQM”) shares to Tianqi Lithium Corporation (“Tianqi Lithium”)
through an open auction process on the Santiago Stock Exchange for
gross proceeds of approximately US$4.1 billion. This is the final
divestiture required by the Competition Commission of India and
Ministry of Commerce in China in providing their clearance for the
merger of Agrium and PotashCorp to form Nutrien. Net proceeds from
the sale of our equity investments in 2018 is expected to total
approximately US$5 billion.
“Closing the sale of our investment in SQM marks the conclusion
of a major deliverable for Nutrien. The receipt of US$4.1 billion
in gross proceeds provides an opportunity to deploy the cash to
generate significant shareholder value. With the sale of our
investments in Arab Potash Company and SQM in the fourth quarter,
along with significant seasonal cash flow generated from our Retail
business, we expect our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio to
decline below 2 by the end of 2018.1 As a result, Nutrien has ample
flexibility to both return capital to shareholders and grow the
business with a disciplined investment approach,” commented Chuck
Magro, Nutrien's President and CEO.
About Nutrien
Nutrien is the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and
services, playing a critical role in helping growers increase food
production in a sustainable manner. We produce and distribute over
26 million tons of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products
world-wide. With this capability and our leading agriculture retail
network, we are well positioned to supply the needs of our
customers. We operate with a long-term view and are committed to
working with our stakeholders as we address our economic,
environmental and social priorities. The scale and diversity of our
integrated portfolio provides a stable earnings base, multiple
avenues for growth and the opportunity to return capital to
shareholders.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and other information included in this press
release constitute "forward-looking information" or
"forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking
statements") under applicable securities laws (such statements are
usually accompanied by words such as "anticipate", "expect",
"believe", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "intend" or other
similar words). All statements in this press release, other than
those relating to historical information or current conditions, are
forward‐looking statements, including, but not limited to the
effect on our net debt ratio. Forward‐looking statements in this
press release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions
made by Nutrien, some of which are outside of Nutrien's control.
Although Nutrien believes that the expectations and assumptions on
which such forward‐looking statements are based are reasonable,
undue reliance should not be placed on the forward‐looking
statements because Nutrien can give no assurance that they will
prove to be correct. Forward‐looking statements are subject to
various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results
and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or
expectations expressed in this press release. Nutrien disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward‐looking
statements in this press release as a result of new information or
future events, except as may be required under applicable U.S.
federal securities laws or applicable Canadian securities
legislation.
1 Net debt and adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures. Net
debt is total debt less cash and cash equivalents. Adjusted EBITDA
is net earnings from continuing operations before finance costs,
income tax (recovery) expense and depreciation and amortization,
impairment, Merger and related costs, share-based compensation and
gain on curtailment of defined benefit pension and other
post-retirement benefit plans.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181205005393/en/
Investor Relations:Jeff HolzmanSenior Director, Investor
Relations(306) 933-8545
Media Relations:Will TigleyManager, Media & Digital
Communications(403) 225-7310Contact us at: www.nutrien.com
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