CF Industries Reaffirms Interest In Terra In Letter
March 9, 2009 Read the full text of the letter sent to Terra Industries’ Board of Directors by CF Industries Chairman, President, and CEO Stephen Wilson.
March 9, 2009
Board of Directors
Terra Industries Inc.
Terra Centre
600 Fourth Street
P.O. Box 6000
Sioux City, Iowa 51102-6000
Attention: Henry R. Slack, Chairman of the Board
Michael L. Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer
Dear Members of the Board:
The Board of Directors of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has rejected the acquisition proposal from Agrium and reaffirmed its intent to continue to pursue a business combination with Terra Industries. Our Board also has determined that CF Industries would be prepared to enter into a negotiated merger agreement with Terra on terms that provide certain value assurances to Terra’s stockholders.
Specifically, CF Industries would agree to an exchange ratio based on $27.50 for each Terra share, with an exchange ratio of not less than 0.4129 of a CF Industries share and not more than 0.4539 of a CF Industries share. The $27.50 per share represents an almost 70% premium to Terra’s stock price before we made our offer, while peer group stock performance has been essentially flat since that time.
While for Terra’s stockholders these terms provide value assurance and the possibility of a higher exchange ratio than our current offer, they also provide CF Industries’ stockholders with the possibility of a lower exchange ratio if CF Industries’ stock performs as we expect it will. Agrium’s proposal only validates the value and upside potential in the CF Industries stock (and that proposal is itself grossly inadequate).
In Terra’s Schedule 14D-9, you raised the issue of whether, given Agrium’s proposal, CF Industries will be able to obtain the stockholder approval required under NYSE rules to issue CF Industries common stock. While we are confident that the CF Industries stockholders will support a business combination with Terra, we are prepared to address the issue you raised by structuring the transaction so that a vote by the CF Industries stockholders will not be required. We are prepared to enter into a negotiated merger agreement under which we would issue a participating preferred stock that would trade at parity with CF Industries common stock. The terms of the participating preferred stock are set forth on the enclosed Term Sheet. Issuance of the participating preferred stock would not require a vote of the CF Industries stockholders under the NYSE rules.
Terra’s 2009 Annual Meeting is required under its by-laws to be held not later than May 15. We are confident that Terra’s stockholders support a business combination with CF Industries, and will show that support by voting for our slate of directors at the Annual Meeting. Our confidence in the support of Terra’s stockholders is based on our belief that Terra’s stock would be trading very significantly below its current level absent our offer and the expectation of a business combination with CF Industries. We have been willing to engage in meaningful discussions since we made our offer almost two months ago, and we continue to be willing to engage.
Very truly yours,
Stephen R. Wilson
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
CF Industries Holdings, Inc.
(Source: CF Industries)
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