Fertilizer giant Mosaic is buying out CF Industries phosphate operations, leaving it as the only producer in Central and Southern Florida. Mosaic will pay $1.2 billion cash for CF Industries' phosphate business. They'll also pay $200 million in escrow for long-term care of the company's gypsum stacks.
Mosaic will get the 22,000 acre South pasture phosphate mine and processing plant in Hardee County, phosphate manufacturing facility in Plant city, and other assets.
The deal will leave Mosaic as the sole phosphate producer in central Florida. PotashCorp still has a mine in north Florida.Bo Davis is Mosaic's Senior Vice President of Phosphate Operations. He says the acquisition will save Mosaic a lot of money in capital costs. Davis says he doesn't anticipate any layoffs of CF Industries' 700 employees.
"This increases our phosphate by about 20 percent, so it is significant for us. It allows us to continue to grow this business, so it's a great opportunity", Davis said.
The purchase of CF Industries Hardee' County property means that Mosaic will not have to build their planned mine in Hardee. CF industries is now producing 1.8 million tons of phosphate annually, so the addition will bring Mosaic's total to 10 million tons per year.