Potash Rejects BHP Billiton Offer as 'Grossly Inadequate'

Fertilizer giant Potash Corp. (POT) has rejected an offer to be bought by mining powerhouse BHP Billiton Limited (BHP), saying that the bid was "grossly inadequate."

BHP Billiton offered to pay $130 per share in cash, Potash Corp said in a statement. Potash Corp's board unanimously rejected the offer. Potash Corp Chairman Dallas Howe sent a letter to Jacques Nasser, chairman of BHP Billiton, saying that the offer fails to reflect the value of Potash Corp's position in the industry, the value of planned capacity expansions and the value of the company's equity investments.

"The Potash Corp Board strongly and unanimously believes that Potash Corp has a bright future as an independent company and nothing in your August 13, 2010 letter provides the basis for Potash Corp to alter its course," Howe said in the letter.