(Recasts with CEO comments about mergers)
By Rod Nickel
June 8 (Reuters) - Agrium Inc AGU.TO , North America's
largest retail seller of products for crop farming, could
benefit if some of the biggest makers of seed and agricultural
chemicals merge, Chief Executive Chuck Magro said on Wednesday.
Responding to a question during a company investor day in
Toronto about how possible tie-ups of ChemChina and Syngenta AG
SYNN.S or Bayer AG BAYGn.DE and Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Co MON.N could
affect Agrium, Magro said assets could become available if the
companies need to raise capital or satisfy anti-trust concerns.
"We're watching the situation carefully," he said. "From a
consolidation perspective, this is healthy and normal, as part
of the industry ... There could be some very good
opportunities."
The company would be interested in proprietary seed or
chemicals that fit its portfolio, Magro said. Many of the big
producers are already suppliers of Agrium's farm retail stores.
Bayer made an unsolicited $62 billion offer for Monsanto in
May, aiming to create the world's biggest agricultural supplier.
Monsanto turned it down but said it was open to further talks.
Shareholders in Swiss pesticides maker Syngenta have a
deadline of July 18 to accept a $43 billion takeover bid from
state-owned ChemChina.
Agrium AGU.N is also looking for acquisitions of more
retail stores and plans to claim a quarter of the U.S. market
over time, up from its current leading share of 17 percent.
Agrium intends to build 10 to 30 stores in the region by
2020, Magro said.