PotashCorp could see other suitors: CEO

The head of PotashCorp. of Saskatchewan Inc. said a number of parties have expressed interest in alternative transactionsfor the Canadian fertilizer giant and he expects a number of companies to make bids to accompany BHP Billiton's offer.

But chief executive officer Bill Doyle said in a video posting on the company's website Tuesdaythat PotashCorp is poised to achieve results that "far surpass BHP's inadequate offer."

"There's a wide range of potentially interested parties. We believe BHP will not be the only bidder. In fact, a number of third parties have already expressed interest in alternative transactions some who we approached and others who initiated contact on their own," Doyle said.

"While we continue to engage interested parties, we believe, and many of our shareholders agree, that PotashCorp is poised to achieve results as an independent stand-alone company that far surpass BHP's inadequate offer."

Australia's BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, launched a hostile $130 US-a-share takeover on Aug. 18 after Potash directors rejected its offer.

But since then a number of other companies have also been tabbed as possible suitors for the world's biggest fertilizer company, including Vale SA, which swallowed up Canadian metals miner Inco Ltd. a few years ago; China's Sinochem; Canada's Teck Resources; and London-based Rio Tinto, which acquired Alcan Inc. of Montreal in 2007.

Reuters, citing sources with knowledge of the deal,said Tuesday that China's state-owned chemicals group Sinochem Corp. has approached Singapore state investor Temasek to join a consortium that may bid for PotashCorp.

The move underpinned Reuters reports that Chinese officials had ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton's $39-billion bid for Potash Corp.