please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message potash corporation of saskatchewan inc. type public traded as tsx pot nyse pot s & p tsx 60 component founded 1975 ; 41 years ago 1975 headquarters saskatoon saskatchewan canada key people jochen tilk ceo products potash nitrogen phosphate revenue us 8.03 billion fy 2012 1 operating income us 3.90 billion fy 2012 1 net income us 2.30 billion fy 2012 1 total assets us 17.47 billion 2016 2 industry materials number of employees 5 703 2011 3 website http www.potashcorp.com the potash corporation of saskatchewan also known as potashcorp is a canadian corporation based in saskatoon saskatchewan . the company is the world s largest potash producer and the third largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate three primary crop nutrients used to produce fertilizer . at the end of 2011 the company controlled twenty percent of the world s potash production capacity two percent of nitrogen production capacity and five percent of phosphate supply . 4 the company is part owner of canpotex which manages all potash exporting from saskatchewan . 5 it also has a joint venture with sinochem named sinofert . in late 2013 it was 60 % owned by institutional shareholders . 6 in 2007 the ceo william doyle was by far the highest earning ceo in canada earning over 320 million . 7 contents 1 history 2 criticism 3 references 4 external links history edit the company was created by the government of saskatchewan in 1975 . in 1989 it became a publicly traded company as the government of saskatchewan sold off some of its shares selling the remaining shares in 1990 . 8 the saskatchewan potash industry began in the 1950s and 1960s . the government saw it as a promising new field and granted large subsidies to the new projects mainly by american companies . however this led to overproduction and when a global potash glut began in the late 1960s the industry almost collapsed . the liberal government of the province introduced an emergency plan setting up quotas and a price floor in 1969 . this plan was popular among the companies which could now charge monopoly prices . the ndp government that was elected in 1971 in saskatchewan was dissatisfied with this plan as the huge profits went to the companies rather than the government and it wasn t sustainable in the long term . in 1974 the government passed a new potash regulation scheme that included a reserve tax . this plan was resisted by the potash producers and its constitutionality was challenged . thus in 1975 the provincial government established the potash corporation of saskatchewan as a government crown corporation . 9 in november 1975 the province announced its intention to take part of the potash industry into public ownership . the government offered to negotiate with the producers and many of them agreed to sell to the government . over the next several years pcs bought mines around saskatchewan and eventually came to control 40 % of domestic production . public ownership drew the ire of the united states government which criticised the provincial government for buying americans assets and creating a monopoly . in the 1980s the commerce department accused the corporation of dumping and imposed massive duties on all potash imports to the united states . citation needed in the early 1980s the company struggled and lost money for several years accumulating an 800 million debt . in 1989 the conservative government decided to privatize it by selling the company to private investors . during the 1990s potashcorp expanded by buying up a number of american potash companies including potash company of america florida favorite fertilizer texasgulf and arcadian corporation . today it owns assets across canada the united states and also in brazil and the middle east . by march 2008 due to rising potash prices it had become one of the most valuable companies in canada by market capitalization valued at almost c 63 billion . in august 2010 potashcorp became the subject of a hostile takeover bid by anglo australian mining giant bhp billiton . 10 11 on november 3 2010 the government of canada announced that it was blocking the bhp bid as it did not feel the purchase would yield a net benefit for canada ; 12 bhp withdrew its bid soon thereafter . 13 on april 6 2014 the potashcorp board of directors announced the selection of jochen tilk as the new president and ceo effective july 1 2014 . he succeeds bill doyle who has been president and ceo since 1999 . in october 2013 potashcorp reported that its potash prices had slumped 28 percent after the company s largest rival uralkali announced plans to raise output . 14 in december 2013 potashcorp announced its plans to lay off more than 1 000 employees 20 days prior to christmas . the premier of saskatchewan brad wall wrote ceo bill doyle asking him to consider cutting the dividend on the stock . the dividend in doyle s reply was sacrosanct . 15 on september 12 2016 potashcorp announced that it had agreed to merge with the calgary based firm agrium pending government approval . the merged company whose head office will be located in saskatoon will be valued at us 36 billion and be the first largest producer of potash and second largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer worldwide . the deal will be structured so that 52 % of the merged company is held by potashcorp shareholders and 48 % by agrium shareholders . 16 17 criticism edit potashcorp imports phosphate rock from western sahara via the government of morocco . according to the united nations western sahara is a territory illegally occupied by morocco . 18 potashcorp among other companies has been criticized for helping fund this occupation by buying western saharan resources from morocco . 19 potashcorp is on the list of companies which the norwegian government pension fund global is excluded from investing in based on their import of phoshate rock from western sahara 20 a coalition of conservation organizations are challenging a permit issued by the north carolina division of water quality to potashcorp s aurora north carolina phosphate mining operation which allows the company to expand its mining operation . the mining expansion will not have a significant impact on high quality wetlands and aquatic habitat . 21 the permit presumes that the state will write new rules that accommodate the company s ambitions . citation needed a group of community members in penobsquis new brunswick where potashcorp has existing and planned potash mines has launched an action against the mine for damages relating to lost wells subsidence noise light and dust pollution as well as anxiety . this action is being handled through the new brunswick mining commissioner . 22 in 2011 a planned sulfur melting plant facility in morehead city north carolina was withdrawn after public opposition . 23 full citation needed references edit a b c potash corporation s annual income statement via wikinvest http www.forbes.com companies potashcorp a b company profile for potash corp of saskatchewan inc pot . retrieved 2008 10 09 . potash corp. of saskatchewan 2010 annual report company overview p. 5 canpotex limited complete profile . industry canada . 2009 06 18 . retrieved 2010 09 07 . pot ownership summary nasdaq.com doyle top ceo at 320 million . the starphoenix . saskatoon . 2008 11 18 . retrieved 2010 09 08 . crown investments corporation of saskatchewan saskatchewan public enterprise history archived january 24 2010 at the wayback machine . potashcorp faqs when was potashcorp formed bhp billiton launches hostile bid for potash . bbc . 2010 08 18 . retrieved 2010 11 06 . bhp goes hostile on 39 billion potash corp bid . reuters . 2010 08 18 . retrieved 2010 11 06 . tang varner min 2010 11 04 . canadian government blocks bhp s bid for potashcorp . toronto star . archived from the original on 2010 11 06 . retrieved 2010 11 06 . bhp billiton walks away from potashcorp . cbc news . 2010 11 14 . retrieved 2010 11 15 . bloomberg potash corp. posts 28 % price drop as uralkali ups output 24 october 2013 potashcorp owners should share the pain of cuts wall says 5 dec 2013 agrium potashcorp merger could signal next great frontier calgary chamber president says . cbc news . retrieved 13 september 2016 . potash corp. agrium agree to merger that would create 36b agriculture giant . cbc news . 2016 09 12 . retrieved 2016 09 12 . united nations united nations mission for the referendum in western sahara western sahara resource watch . wsrw demands pcs to terminate its unethical trade . november 30 2008 . norwegian government pension fund global exclusion list http www.saw.usace.army.mil wetlands projects pcs index.html us army corps of engineers project reports and record of decision http www.thestarphoenix.com people near mine want compensation from potashcorp 3393648 story.html dead link sulfur processing off the table for nc city associated press 07.28.11 external links edit official website story of the creation of pcs companies portal v t e major mining companies methodology fy2010 11 revenues of over us 5 billion aluminum corporation of china anglo american anglo american platinum anglogold ashanti antofagasta barrick gold bhp billiton codelco freeport mcmoran glencore xstrata goldcorp hindalco industries impala platinum the mosaic company newcrest mining newmont mining norilsk nickel potash corporation of saskatchewan rio tinto shenhua southern copper vale mining companies v t e saskatchewan crown corporations crown investments corporation cic current crowns owned through cic sask gaming sgi sasktel saskpower saskenergy saskatchewan transportation company saskwater information services corporation of saskatchewan investment saskatchewan saskatchewan development fund corporation saskatchewan government growth fund management corporation saskatchewan opportunities corporation current crowns owned through other departments global transportation hub authority saskatchewan grain car corporation saskatchewan housing corporation saskatchewan liquor and gaming authority saskatchewan research council former crown corporations potash corporation of saskatchewan saskatchewan communications network scn saskatchewan government airways saskatchewan minerals saskatchewan mining development corporation saskatchewan oil & gas corporation saskatchewan potato utility development company v t e corporations based in saskatoon crown corporations saskatoon light & power publicly traded corporations cameco international road dynamics potash corporation of saskatchewan star uranium united uranium private corporations areva resources canada canpotex crestline coach dynaventure farmers of north america first nations bank of canada guardian biotechnologies great western brewing company hitachi canadian industries il therapeutics prairie plant systems pronto airways qa technologies robin hood flour siemens transportation group sed systems west wind aviation yanke group yourlink co operatives affinity credit union concentra financial federated co operatives saskatoon co op tcu financial group v t e s & p tsx 60 companies of canada february 22 2016 agnico eagle mines agrium arc resources bank of montreal barrick gold bce inc. blackberry bombardier brookfield asset management cameco canadian imperial bank of commerce canadian national canadian natural resources canadian pacific canadian tire cenovus energy cgi group constellation software couche tard crescent point energy dollarama eldorado gold emera enbridge encana first quantum minerals franco nevada fortis inc. gildan goldcorp husky energy imperial oil inter pipeline kinross gold loblaw companies magna international manulife financial metro national bank of canada pembina pipeline potashcorp power corporation restaurant brands international rogers communications royal bank of canada saputo scotiabank shaw communications silver wheaton snc lavalin sun life financial suncor energy teck telus thomson reuters toronto dominion bank transcanada valeant weston yamana gold retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title potashcorp & oldid 741465823 categories fertilizer companiesmining companies of canadacompanies based in saskatoonnon renewable resource companies established in 1975companies listed on the new york stock exchangecompanies listed on the toronto stock exchanges & p tsx 60 indexs & p tsx composite indexhidden categories articles with wayback machine linksall articles