Terra sets $400 million fertilizer acquisition

Abstract

Terra Industries of Sioux City, Iowa, has proposed a $400 million acquisition of Tulsa, Okla.-based Agricultural Minerals & Chemicals Inc. (AMCI), a move that will double its capacity for making nitrogen-based fertilizers. But several transactions must be completed before the deal can go through, including a private placement of Terra stock and procurement of new debt financing. Terra closed 1993 with sales of $1.2 billion, $229 million of which came from manufactured fertilizers. The remaining sales came from the company's distribution business—selling fertilizer, crop protection products, seeds, and services through a network of more than 350 farm service centers and more than 770 affiliated dealers. Besides doubling Terra's nitrogen capacity, the addition of AMCI's production facilities gives us the opportunity to reduce by more than 10% our outside purchases of nitrogen fertilizer for resale through our retail network, notes Terra president and chief executive officer Burton M. Joyce. AMCI—which is ...