AURORA — It’s official: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium Inc., two industry leaders in crop nutrient production, merged today into the newly named Nutrien.

“This final clearance marks a significant milestone in bringing two industry leaders together,” Chuck Magro, president and chief executive officer of Agrium stated in a Dec. 27 press release. “Given our extensive integration planning work, we expect to move quickly upon closing to begin delivering on the many strategic benefits and synergy potential of this combination.”

PotashCorp is the world’s largest producer, by capacity, of potash and one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate; agriculture is its primary market, but the company also produces products for animal nutrition and industrial uses. Agrium also produces nitrogen, potash and phosphate fertilizers, and

supplies products and services directly to growers, including crop nutrients, crop protection, seed, as well as agronomic and application services. The goal is to help growers meet the ever-growing global demand for food and fiber, according to the press release.

For those at Nutrien’s Aurora plant, the merger does not represent any shake-up, according to Ray McKeithan, the Aurora facility’s manager of public and government affairs.

“It will be business as usual for our operational sites such as Aurora, and we will be known as Nutrien effective Jan. 1,” McKeithan said. “As our CEO said (Dec. 27), we are pleased to have received final regulatory clearance and look forward to the formation of Nutrien. Nutrien will build upon the impressive legacies and best practices of both companies to create long-term value for all our stakeholders.”

Common shares of Nutrien are expected to start trading under the ticker symbol “NTR” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange at market openings on Jan. 2. More information about the merger of the companies can be found at www.worldclasscropinputsupplier.com.