Compass Minerals Sells Assets to ICL, Koch
Compass Minerals, a US producer of minerals and plant nutrition products, has finalized two separate sale agreements with ICL and Koch Agronomic Services for its South American and North American businesses, respectively. The deals follow a detailed analysis by Compass Minerals of its portfolio.
ICL Brasil will pay about $402 million to buy the South American plant nutrition business, which is present in 25 out of 26 Brazilian states and offers enhanced efficiency fertilizers and controlled-release fertilizers, soil and foliar micronutrients, secondary nutrients, biostimulants and adjuvants.
The purchase price also includes the assumption of approximately $109 million of net debt and an earnout of up to roughly $16 million.
“This transaction, together with our recent acquisition of Fertiláqua in Brazil and our existing specialty plant nutrition business there, will position ICL as the leading specialty plant nutrition company in Brazil, one of the world’s fastest growing agriculture markets,” said ICL’s president and CEO Raviv Zoller, adding that the deal also provides further seasonal balance between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
ICL, which closed its $122 million purchase of Fertiláqua in January, expects to complete on the Compass deal by the third quarter of 2021. The transaction remains subject to Compass completing the carve-out of its South American water treatment and chemicals businesses, along with the usual closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
In its full-year 2020 results announced on Feb. 17, Compass said it had relaunched the sale process of its South American specialty plant nutrition and chemical businesses. The company expects to use the proceeds “to reduce leverage, further enhance our liquidity and continue our focus on meeting customer demand for our essential products.” The sale process for the chemicals business is ongoing, Compass added.
The second agreement with Koch relates to Compass Minerals’ North American micronutrient assets, including global intellectual property rights, for its Wolf Trax, Rocket Seeds and Hydro Bullet product platforms.
“We are excited to enter the micronutrient business with three product lines that fit our customers’ desire to improve distribution of micronutrients across the field in conjunction with dry fertilizers, as seed treatments and as foliar applications,” said Koch’s senior vice president Steve Coulter.
The transaction is expected to close in April, subject to the usual conditions.
Author: Ellaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
