Welcome to the Streetwise Morning Meeting, a round up of overnight happenings in the deal world.
Why Potash Corp. is make or break for Marius Kloppers
The hostile bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is a make or break deal for BHP CEO Marius Kloppers. His bid for Rio Tinto failed in 2008, and striking out again to go 0 for 2 on takeover attempts tcould be the end of his career in a job where dealmaking is key, the Globe and Mail reports.
The deal could also mean the end of Canada's long-standing marketing cartel for potash.
And while it's been a quiet year elsewhere in mergers and acquisitions, Bloomberg News ran the numbers and concluded that the Potash bid could mean the busiest year ever for resource deals.
The size of the deal and the borrowing needed is also creating a reality check in the debt market after a recent rally, Bloomberg reports.
GM before and after
With the General Motors IPO approaching this fall (and Canada's RBC Dominion Securities playing a key role), the Wall Street Journal's Deal Journal blog crunches the numbers, comparing the Old GM with the new.
Teachers saying yes to drugs
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and a partner are reportedly buying INC Research, a drug development company, for about $600-million. The pharma industry has proven attractive for Canada's big pension funds, as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board last year joined a big buyout of IMS Health, which does drug-market research, and since has been doing bolt-on deals.
Magna opponents to fight on
The big pension plans lost an opening round in their court fight to stop Magna International Inc. from going ahead with a deal to buy out founder Frank Stronach's controlling stake. They aren't giving up -- saying they plan to launch an appeal. The pension funds say it's unfair, but shareholders want it, raising the question: When is the company you own not yours to manage?