OSLO--Norwegian chemical company Yara International ASA (YAR.OS)
said Tuesday that Jørgen Ole Haslestad has resigned as Chief
Executive Officer amid merger talks with U.S. fertilizer producer
CF Industries, and that it had appointed Torgeir Kvidal as acting
Chief Executive Officer.
"Yara's Board has concluded that Haslestad is not the right
person to lead the company going forward, also in light of the
on-going talks with CF Industries," said Yara Chairman Leif Teksum,
adding that Mr. Haslestad "would not have a role in a potential
merged company."
Mr. Haslestad, 65, has been in his position since 2008, and has
previously announced that he planned to retire when Yara had
appointed a new chief executive officer.
Oslo-based Yara and CF Industries, based in Deerfield, Ill.,
said last month they were in merger talks to form the world's
biggest producer of nitrogen fertilizers, combining Yara's
international distribution network with CF's low production costs
based on cheap U.S. natural gas.
No information was given about whether the merged company would
be based in Norway or whether the company's chief executive officer
would be Norwegian. The Norwegian government is Yara's biggest
shareholder with a 36.21% stake, and has previously said it wanted
Yara's headquarters to remain in the country.
Svein Richard Brandtzæg, chief executive officer of Norwegian
aluminum producer Norsk Hydro ASA, reconsidered on Sept. 26 a
previous decision to become Yara Chief Executive officer, and said
the company's merger plans were partly to blame, along with an
improvement in the aluminum market and a wish from Norsk Hydro to
keep him.
"The discussions with CF Industries will continue with Kvidal
leading the Yara team, with support from the board and in
particular from me as chairman," said Mr. Teksum.
Mr. Kvidal has been Yara's chief financial officer since 2012
and served as the company's head of supply and trade from 2011 to
2012. He joined Norsk Hydro in 1991, before the Yara demerger in
2004.
Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at
kjetilmalkenes.hovland@wsj.com
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