The head of Terra Industries Inc. (TRA) on Thursday declined
comment on whether the company has received any alternative
approaches after announcing plans Monday to be acquired by Norway's
Yara International ASA (YAR.OS, YARIY) for $4.1 billion in
cash.
Terra's share price moved above the $41.10 a share offered by
Yara, fueling speculation that former suitor CF Industries Inc.
(CF) may revive its interest.
Michael Bennett, chief executive of Terra, declined to comment
on most Yara-related questions on a post-earnings conference call
and said more details would emerge in a planned proxy
statement.
CF executives said Tuesday they were still "digesting" Yara's
move, which came a month after CF abandoned its own year-long
hostile pursuit of Terra.
Terra's shares were recently trading up 0.9% at $41.25 after the
company reported a fourth-quarter loss that nonetheless beat
analysts' expectations.
Bennett provided a bullish outlook for crop nutrient demand
driven by expectations of a large corn planting in the U.S. this
year.
He cautioned that potential bottlenecks could emerge in
delivering fertilizer, reflecting supply-chain changes and soil
moisture that could delay planting.
Terra reported a loss of $3.8 million, or 4 cents a share, down
from earnings of $164.7 million, or $1.65 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items such as tax expenses from the repatriation of funds
to the U.S. and charges from early retirement of debt, earnings
were 75 cents a share.
Revenue fell 47% to $361.1 million on lower ammonia selling
prices.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 54 cents
a share on revenue of $421 million.
Terra's results "reflect the gradual pace of recovery from the
weakened market conditions that prevailed through most of 2009,"
said Bennett, who will stay after the takeover to head a new unit
to be known as Yara North America.
-By Doug Cameron, John Kell, Jodi Xu, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-2480; john.kell@dowjones.com
