The drawn out battle between Agrium Inc and its largest shareholder Jana Partners looked set for a bruising proxy battle on Tuesday, a day after the activist hedge fund rejected Agrium's call for a truce.The fertilizer maker and farm products retailer threw down the gauntlet late on Monday by nominating David Everitt and Mayo Schmidt as independent board members, passing over five nominees that Jana has proposed for election to Agrium's board."We believe that a proxy battle, as opposed to a negotiated settlement, is becoming a near certainty," said Ben Isaacson, an analyst with Scotiabank, in a note to clients.The two sides have been locked in a war of words as Jana, a New York based hedge fund that owns 6 percent of Agrium, made a range of demands, including that Agrium spin off its retail arm and boost the level of industry experience on its board.
Agrium Inc. (Agrium), is a global producer and marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. Shares of AGU fell by 0.52% or $-0.6/share to $114.00. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $74.28 and as high as $115.31. On average, 627544 shares of AGU exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 195283.
Agrium Inc. (Agrium), is a global producer and marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. Shares of AGU fell by 0.56% or $-0.64/share to $114.36. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $77.50 and as high as $116.38. On average, 486013 shares of AGU.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 114111.
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