DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2009--
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) announced today that it is
offering to acquire Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRA) for $32.00 in cash
and 0.1034 of a share of CF Industries common stock for each Terra share
(including the $7.50 per share special dividend declared by Terra).
The offer has a value of $40.61 per share, based on Friday’s closing
price for CF Industries common stock. The offer, which is equivalent to
a multiple of 7.1 times trailing 12-months EBITDA, represents a premium
of 28% to Terra’s closing price on Friday and a significantly higher
premium to the price at which Terra shares would have traded without
takeover speculation. Morgan Stanley has committed $2.5 billion to
provide the funds required for the transaction. The transaction is not
subject to a financing condition and is not subject to the approval of
CF Industries stockholders. CF Industries has satisfied all antitrust
regulatory conditions that are required to close the transaction.
“The strategic benefit of combining these two great companies is
undeniable,” said Stephen R. Wilson, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of CF Industries. “The substantial cash in our offer
makes the combination far more accretive for CF Industries stockholders,
while providing certainty on value and closing for Terra stockholders.
The transaction is clearly in the best interests of our respective
stockholders.”
The following letter was sent to the Terra Board of Directors:
November 1, 2009
Board of Directors
Terra Industries Inc.
Terra Centre
600
Fourth Street
P.O. Box 6000
Sioux City, Iowa 51102-6000
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Attention:
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Henry R. Slack, Chairman of the Board
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Michael L. Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer
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Dear Members of the Board:
We continue to believe that the strategic and financial benefits of
combining CF Industries and Terra Industries are compelling. Given our
confidence in the benefits of the combination, we are offering to
acquire Terra for $32.00 in cash and 0.1034 of a share of CF Industries
common stock for each Terra share (including the $7.50 per share special
dividend declared by Terra). Our offer represents a highly attractive
multiple of 7.1 times trailing 12-months EBITDA.
Morgan Stanley has committed to provide the financing required for the
transaction. Our offer is not subject to a financing condition or to the
approval of CF Industries stockholders. The merger agreement between the
two companies would also contain no financing condition. As you are
aware, CF Industries has satisfied all antitrust regulatory conditions
required to close the transaction.
Our offer is subject to approval by the Terra Board of Directors,
entering into a definitive agreement with customary conditions and
confirmatory due diligence.
Unless a merger agreement is entered into by November 30, 2009, our
financing commitment would expire. We have the right to extend the
financing commitment until December 31, 2009, subject to there not
having been a disruption in the financing markets. Accordingly, we
reserve the right to withdraw our offer if a merger agreement is not
entered into by November 30, 2009.
Our offer provides compelling value for Terra stockholders as well as
certainty of closing. The transaction clearly is in the best interests
of our respective stockholders, and we should move forward promptly and
sign a merger agreement to put these two great companies together.
Sincerely,
Stephen R. Wilson
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
CF
Industries Holdings, Inc.
Morgan Stanley and Rothschild are acting as financial advisors and
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as legal counsel to
CF Industries.
Additional information for Investors, Employees, Customers and the
Agribusiness Community is available at www.transactioninfo.com/cfindustries
or www.cfindustries.com.
About CF Industries
CF Industries Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, is
the holding company for the operations of CF Industries, Inc. CF
Industries, Inc. is a major producer and distributor of nitrogen and
phosphate fertilizer products. CF Industries operates world-scale
nitrogen fertilizer plants in Donaldsonville, Louisiana and Medicine
Hat, Alberta, Canada; conducts phosphate mining and manufacturing
operations in Central Florida; and distributes fertilizer products
through a system of terminals, warehouses, and associated transportation
equipment located primarily in the Midwestern United States. The company
also owns a 50 percent interest in KEYTRADE AG, a global fertilizer
trading organization headquartered near Zurich, Switzerland. Additional
information on CF Industries is found on the company's website at www.cfindustries.com.
Additional Information
This communication is neither an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy any securities, nor is it a substitute for the
prospectus/proxy statement CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (“CF
Industries”) would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”) regarding the proposed transaction with Terra Industries Inc.
(“Terra”) if such a negotiated transaction is reached or for any other
document which CF Industries may file with the SEC and send to CF
Industries or Terra stockholders in connection with the proposed
transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF CF INDUSTRIES AND TERRA
ARE URGED TO READ ANY SUCH DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN
THEIR ENTIRETY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL
CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.
Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of any
documents filed by CF Industries with the SEC through the web site
maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.
Free copies of any such documents can also be obtained by calling
Innisfree M&A Incorporated toll-free at (877) 456-3507.
CF Industries and its directors and executive officers will be
participants in any solicitation of proxies from Terra stockholders in
respect of the proposed transaction with Terra. Information regarding CF
Industries’ directors and executive officers is available in the
supplement to its proxy statement for its 2009 annual meeting of
stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 7, 2009, and a
description of their direct and indirect interests in such solicitation,
by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy
statement/prospectus filed in connection with the proposed transaction
with Terra.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this communication may constitute
“forward-looking statements.” All statements in this communication,
other than those relating to historical information or current
condition, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of
which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements. Risks and uncertainties relating to the
proposed transaction include: Terra’s failure to accept CF Industries
proposal and enter into definitive agreements to effect the transaction;
our ability to obtain shareholder and other approvals on the proposed
terms and schedule; uncertainty of the expected financial performance of
CF Industries following completion of the proposed transaction; CF
Industries’ ability to achieve the cost-savings and synergies
contemplated by the proposed transaction within the expected time frame;
CF Industries’ ability to promptly and effectively integrate the
businesses of Terra and CF Industries; and disruption from the proposed
transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with
customers, employees or suppliers. Additional risks and uncertainties
include: the relatively expensive and volatile cost of North American
natural gas; the cyclical nature of our business and the agricultural
sector; changes in global fertilizer supply and demand and its impact on
the selling price of our products; the nature of our products as global
commodities; intense global competition in the consolidating markets in
which we operate; conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry; weather
conditions; our inability to accurately predict seasonal demand for our
products; the concentration of our sales with certain large customers;
the impact of changing market conditions on our forward pricing program;
the reliance of our operations on a limited number of key facilities;
the significant risks and hazards against which we may not be fully
insured; reliance on third party transportation providers; unanticipated
adverse consequences related to the expansion of our business; our
inability to expand our business, including the significant resources
that could be required; potential liabilities and expenditures related
to environmental and health and safety laws and regulations; our
inability to obtain or maintain required permits and governmental
approvals or to meet financial assurance requirements; acts of
terrorism; difficulties in securing the supply and delivery of raw
materials we use and increases in their costs; losses on our investments
in securities; loss of key members of management and professional staff;
the international credit crisis and global recession; credit losses from
counterparties to our natural gas swap contracts due to the credit and
economic crisis; and the other risks and uncertainties included from
time to time in our filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, we
undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements.
Source: CF Industries Holdings, Inc.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc.
Terry Huch, 847-405-2515
Senior
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
thuch@cfindustries.com
or
Brunswick
Group LLC
Susan Stillings / Monika Driscoll, 212-333-3810
or
Innisfree
M&A Incorporated
Alan Miller, 212-750-5833