Potash (POT) Is Said to Receive Inquiries From Sinochem, Vale (VALE)

Bloomberg reports that Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT) was contacted by China’s Sinochem Group and Brazil’s Vale SA (VALE) as the company tries to fend off a hostile takeover from BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), said a person with knowledge of the matter.

Sinochem and Vale made initial inquiries with Potash Corp.’s board late last week about the possibility of holding talks, said the person, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public. Potash Corp., whose shares took off last week after the company called a $130 per share buyout offer from BHP Billiton “grossly inadequate” considering the fertilizer giant’s “unparalleled growth prospects”, has been approached by “a number” of parties interested in pursuing alternative transactions and is in talks with “several” of them, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based company said today.