New details surface in court
BHP Billiton Ltd. laid eyes on Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. well before it launched its US $38.6-billion hostile bid earlier this year, court documents show. Evidence emerging from the lawsuit Potash Corp. filed against BHP in a U.S. District Court in Illinois last month includes an internal recommendation that the Australian miner buy the Canadian potash producer dated as early as 2006, when Potash Corp. was valued at US$ 13 billion. The Saskatchewan-based company is using the documents to build its case that BHP misled investors on both its takeover offer and its plans for entering the potash business. BHP denies the allegations, and released a statement calling the lawsuit “entirely without merit.”