K+S Says Growth Plans Intact Even As Investors Balk
K+S will be able to pursue its growth plans even though shareholders voted against granting it the option to hike the potash miner's capital, Chief Executive Norbert Steiner said.
Investors rejected two motions that would have given K+S the mandate to issue new shares worth €3.2 billion based on the current price.
"This does not stand in the way of our growth strategy as we have previously outlined it," Steiner told analysts in a call.
The world's fourth-largest potash supplier at its annual general meeting asked investors for permission to issue new shares equivalent to up to 10% of outstanding capital to be used for convertible bonds and options. In addition, it asked for the green light to issue fresh shares equivalent to 30% of capital over the next five years, in the form of authorized capital.
Neither motion received the 50% approval rate needed. K+S's long-term shareholders BASF and Russian tycoon Andrei Melnichenko, which hold more than a quarter of K+S's shares between them, also voted against them.
So far the German fertilizer maker, which traces its roots to a late 19th-century salt mine, has steered clear of a takeover battle that has gripped the industry. U.S. fertilizer producer Terra Industries accepted a $4.68 billion takeover bid from national rival CF Industries, which beat out Norwegian nitrogen specialist Yara. Steiner confirmed earlier statements that K+S is trying to secure a joint venture deal to start a new potash mine outside Germany and that any additional takeover deals would be medium-sized.
