Local politics dog BHP bid Barry Fitzgerald October 23, 2010
BHP Billiton's hopes of securing Canadian government approval for its $US40 billion ($A40.7 billion) takeover bid for Potash Corp remain alive despite the best efforts of the Saskatchewan provincial government to have it blocked.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said on Thursday the province could not support the offer. ''We must say no to this hostile takeover. Canadian-led mining companies are in risk of becoming an endangered species,'' he said.
But the decision on whether the BHP bid is in the national interest rests with the national government's Industry Minister, Tony Clement. His decision is due on November 3, unless extended.
Advertisement: Story continues below Asked which way he was leaning after the lack of support from the provincial government, Mr Clement said the national government had obviously taken note of ''Saskatchewan's conclusions''.
"We have also noted the bidder's positions on these issues and the positions of many other Canadians besides. And we will take all of that into consideration prior to making a determination," he said.
Despite the provincial opposition to the bid, Mr Clements said a decision had not been made, as well as indicating that the final decision would be even-handed.
"I am neither a head waiter to the premier of Saskatchewan, nor am I butler to the president of BHP,'' Mr Clement said.
BHP for its part believes that the issues that the provincial government has raised can be dealt with in binding federal agreements around tax revenue and the future operations of Canpotex, the producer-owned group that markets Saskatchewan's potash.
BHP was buoyed on its chances in the federal approval process when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said earlier in the week that the BHP bid was a case of an Australian company buying an ''American-controlled''company, a reference to Potash being 51 per cent owned by non-Canadians, mostly American investors.
BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers was circumspect.
''I would not like to speculate on whether or not we can have success,'' Mr Kloppers told reporters after BHP's annual meeting in London on Thursday. ''We feel, however, very confident that we can overcome the issues.''
Asked if his reputation was on the line with the bid, Mr Kloppers said: ''Reputation is not important here. What is important is that we achieve value for our shareholders.''
