Norway's Yara seeks antitrust nod for Brazil NPK asset disposal
SAO PAULO, July 11 (Reuters) -Yara YAR.OL is seeking antitrust permission to sell assets and rights related to the production and sale of liquid NPK fertilizers to a local company in Brazil, a move to stay competitive on a key market for the Oslo-based firm.
Yara and privately-owned buyer FassAgro did not immediately reply to a comment request regarding the details of the proposed transaction, which was first reported by newspaper Valor Economico on Thursday and notified to antitrust authority CADE in late June.
The move reflects Yara's strategic repositioning in Brazil, its main market outside of Europe, according to analysts.
Constrained by Western sanctions on big fertilizer suppliers like Russia and Belarus, Yara has been losing market share in the country and plans to focus on the sale and production of products of higher aggregate value, Marcelo Mello, a StoneX analyst, said.
Brazil is heavily dependent on fertilizer imports for blending internally and nourishing crops like soy, corn and sugarcane.
According to import and production data compiled by StoneX, Yara's market share dropped from 18% in 2021 to 11% last year, a trend likely to continue.
Mosaic MOS.N, the largest local player, commanded a 17% share of Brazil's market in 2023 while Yara was overcome by the local arm of Swiss-headquartered Eurochem group, which has Russian origins and now has a 12% share, StoneX data showed.
Regarding the proposed deal with FassAgro, Yara and the buyer told CADE both firms operate in the production and commercialization of NPK fertilizers distributed in liquid form.
However, given neither company has a large share of this segment of the market, the deal would not raise any competition concerns, Yara said, according to public filings.
Reporting by Ana Mano, Editing by Franklin Paul
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