upon a single source . relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . july 2016 yara international asa type public traded as ose yar industry chemicals founded 1905 headquarters oslo norway key people svein tore holsether president and ceo leif teksum chairman products nitrogen fertilizers nitrates revenue nok 111.897 billion 2015 1 operating income nok 14.104 billion 2015 1 profit nok 8.083 billion 2015 1 total assets nok 118.863 billion end 2015 1 total equity nok 75.727 billion end 2015 1 number of employees 12 883 end 2015 1 website www.yara.com yara international asa is a norwegian chemical company . its largest business area is the production of nitrogen fertilizer 2 3 however it also encompasses the production of dry ice nitrates ammonia urea and other nitrogen based chemicals . the company was established in 1905 as norsk hydro the world s first producer of mineral nitrogen fertilizers and de merged as yara international asa on march 25 2004 . yara is listed on the oslo stock exchange and has its headquarters in oslo . the company has more than 12 000 employees production sites on six continents operations in more than 50 countries and sales to about 150 countries . 4 the norwegian government owns more than a third of yara and is its largest shareholder . 5 contents 1 business 2 history 2.1 1900 1905 2.1.1 eyde birkeland wallenberg 2.2 1906 1919 2.3 1960 1969 2.4 1970 1977 2.4.1 holte 2.5 2004 2008 2.5.1 yara prize 2.6 2008 2014 2.7 2014 3 acquisitions joint ventures and expansions 4 chairmen 5 ceos 6 references 7 external links business edit the company has three primary areas of activity 1 industrial products a wide range of nitrogen and specialty chemicals in addition to co2 dry ice and civil explosive solutions . environmental solutions solutions for nox abatement odor control water treatment and corrosion prevention . agricultural products complete portfolio of fertilizer covering all necessary nutrients for any crop . structurally there are three business platforms and operating segments upstream downstream and industrial coordinate through the supply and trade platform to ensure synergies 1 upstream production of nitrogen based products for fertilizer and industrial uses . downstream sales marketing and distribution activities around the globe . industrial development and processing of environmental solutions and industrial activities . supply and trade optimization of energy raw materials sourcing logistics and shipping . history edit 1900 1905 edit the history of yara dates back to the founding of modern norwegian industry . modern yara began with the establishment of norsk hydroelektiske kvelstoffaktieselskab or norsk hydro as it later became known in december 1905 after nitrogen fertilizer was successfully produced at notodden . 6 eyde birkeland wallenberg edit norsk hydro was founded by sam eyde who brought the vision kristian birkeland who brought the science and marcus wallenberg who brought the capital . 7 the contributions of these three men all were essential to the establishment of norsk hydro . 8 norsk hydro used norway s large hydroelectric energy resources to produce its first product . the company pioneered direct nitrogen fixation called the birkeland eyde process . citation needed this contribution to the fertilizer market attracted global attention as the product enabled farmers to boost their yields . 1906 1919 edit hydrolectric power was as mentioned essential in order to produce the nitrogen fertilizer . as a consequence the company built two major power plants one at notodden and one in rjukan . 9 the company adopted an international perspective early sending its first shipment to china in 1913 . 1960 1969 edit norsk hydro was founded on advanced research and driven by a need to diversify and develop new industries . the production of mineral fertilizer was successful and the company expanded into other businesses such as oil and metals . in 1969 norsk hydro entered into its first joint venture with authorities in qatar . with access to a competitive source of gas and a strategic location in the middle east the joint venture opened up a global market for the company . 1970 1977 edit holte edit norsk hydro in the 1970s was shaped under the leadership of johan berthin holte ceo 1967 to 1977 . 10 by the 1970s the company was established in asia the middle east and north america . the late 1970s to the mid 1980s was a period of rapid growth through the acquisition of major fertilizer companies in france germany the netherlands and the uk . at the end of the 1990s the company was also established in brazil and south africa . 2004 2008 edit in 2004 hydro agri de merged from norsk hydro and became an independent company called yara international asa . the company was listed on the oslo stock exchange on march 25 2004 and is a leading producer of ammonia nitrates nitrogen products and npk specialty fertilizers . 11 since then yara has continued to expand its global presence through investments in other countries with many acquisitions joint ventures and new projects primarily in africa and north and south america . in july 2006 yara paid 126 million for a controlling share in fertibras . this acquisition gave yara more than 99 % of the voting stock in fertibras 12 and 15 % of fosfertil the largest producer in brazil of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers . 12 yara prize edit in 2005 yara celebrated its centennial by responding to a call for an african green revolution with the launch of its prize to recognize outstanding contributions to african agriculture . in 2014 the yara prize will focus on rural youth and the future of farming in africa including food and nutrition security and employment and income generation . 13 2008 2014 edit in 2008 thorleif enger retired and j rgen ole haslestad no became ceo . on his appointment haslestad stated yara must continue its growth strategy . the company has many exciting opportunities to pursue for instance when it comes to the environment where we contribute to better balance in agricultural development and deliver some interesting industrial solutions to environmental problems . 14 haslestad held the office until 2014 when the company fired him saying they needed someone who could complete the upcoming merger negotiations and that haslesrad had been on the point of retiring . 5 svein richard brandtzaeg ten days earlier had decided not to leave hydro to take over the helm of yara 15 after contract negotiations were leaked and charges were laid against enger the prior ceo . 16 in january yara reached an agreement with vale to sell its brazilian shares of fosfertil for 785 million us . 17 also in 2010 anz bank called in the receivers on the 65 % share of burrup owned by which was later sold to yara and to apache corporation of new york which had a gas supply agreement with burrup . 18 in 2016 the oswal couple was still litigating the fairness of the proceedings alleging coercion . 18 radhika has also been accused of dodging a 186 million tax bill . also in separate proceedings her husband is alleged to have taken more than 150 million from entities associated with the fertiliser plant and to have spent the money on private planes and other luxury goods . the two left perth for bubai in 2010 . 18 on february 25 2011 the us treasury department lifted sanctions that had been in place against yara subsidiary libyan norwegian fertilizer because of its affiliation with the libyan government . 19 20 in march 2011 the dutch government froze about 3 billion in libyan assets including yara s sluiskil joint venture half owned by the lia and the nocl 21 on august 3 2011 yara announced that it was selling its share in its russian rossosh npk plant for 390 million us or 2.1 billion kroner nok 22 in 2013 yara was enmeshed in a scandal that involved many companies and transactions that may not have taken place dagens n ringsliv . norway s business daily reported that yara had paid over eight million norwegian krone to shukri ghanem formerly libya s prime minister oil minister and senior commander of the state oil company . ghanem had been found dead in the austrian danube in 2012 . 23 yara issued fictitious invoices to account for the money transfers which were deposited in the bank account of a relative of ghanem in the ubs bank in switzerland . 23 the norwegian kokrim anti corruption agency noticed the payments in 2011 . the head of the upstream segment tor halba had warned of possible corrupt practices in an 2008 internal email . investigators came across the payments when they seized business records for two swiss based businesses one of them yara s fertilizer trading subsidiary balderton . yara s own investigation uncovered additional corruption in india . 23 kokrim charged the company with gross corruption in both cases . 23 on october 26 2013 yara acquired ofd holding inc. ofd from omimex resources inc. for us 425 million gaining production facilities in colombia and distribution companies across latin america . 24 2014 edit norwegian authorities had been informed by the company in 2011 that it might have been involved in corruption in connection with 2008 negotiations leading to 2009 s investment of 1.5 billion norwegian kroner into a 50 % share of libyan norwegian fertiliser company 25 or lifeco . 26 in january 2014 the corporation agreed to pay a 48 million fine in a case involving corruption between 2004 and 2009 . the company admitted bribing senior government officials in india and libya as well as to suppliers in russia and india . 27 the fine was the largest ever of its kind in norway . 28 the case puts two cohorts of yara executives up against each other . 29 on 10 january 2014 the norwegian cabinet approved the indictment of former deputy ceo daniel clauw in connection with norway s investigation of yara . 30 three other yara executives were also indicted in the case . 31 they were sentenced july 7 2015 . enger the former ceo received the harshest sentence three years . the former chief legal officer kendrick wallace was given a 2 year sentence and clauw and former upstream coordinator tor halba were given two year sentences . 32 yara international announced in september 2014 that it was in talks with cf industries about a possible merger of equals a deal worth over 27 billion . 33 34 in february 2016 the two urea and two ammonia plants yara has in brega were operating at less that 50 % of their capacity . 35 acquisitions joint ventures and expansions edit 30 % of the russian fertilizer producer oao minudobreniya rossosh bought in february 2005 . 36 in april 2006 an ammonia plant opened in burrup australia . yara presently holds a 35 % stake and is involved in litigation with the other share holder pankaj oswal . in july 2006 yara bought a controlling interest in the brazilian fertilizer distribution and marketing company fertibras . 37 in september 2006 yara bought 50 % of the geneva based trading company balderton fertilisers sa . in may 2007 yara bought 30.05 % of finnish fertilizer company kemira growhow and successfully tendered an offer to buy the rest . 38 s in august 2007 yara entered into a joint venture with wilhelmsen maritime services that owned 50 % of the norwegian registered company yarwil which provides emission reduction systems for nox emissions from ship engines . 39 in july 2008 yara entered into an agreement to acquire canadian nitrogen producer saskferco completing the deal in october 2008 . afterwards the fertilizer plant located in belle plaine began to operate as yara belle plaine inc. 40 50 % of a fertiliser factory in brega