Nothing strikes greater fear than the Great White Shark, arguably the most ferocious predator in the sea. For many months an Australian Great White has been patrolling Canadian waters, nibbling on the occasional penny stock, biding its time. When a shark feeds it is often its prey that one sees first... fleeing in terror.
This morning the financial press headlines lead with announcements that PotashCorp was rejecting BHB Billiton's unsolicited offer. There has been no official breach from BHPB yet. And surprisingly the usually alert Aussie financial press is behind the news cycle.
PotashCorp at the same announced that they had adopted a "Shareholder Rights Plan". Some cynics amongst us might be tempted to call this a "Poison Pill". They will also wonder aloud why, if this plan was so much in the interest of the shareholders, that it had not been adopted a long time ago.
In any case, this new outbreak in global fertilizer warfare seems to be generating significant excitement, in an otherwise drab economic environment. BHPB's initial bid was just short of USD 40 Billion. Knowing that this sort of loot is available from BHPB's change purse, no doubt the bidding has just started.
Leave a comment