Sinochem approaches Temasek on Potash bid-sources

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Tuesday September 07, 2010 12:55:13 PM GMT

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - China's state-owned chemicals group Sinochem Corp has approached Singapore state investor Temasek to join a consortium that may bid for Canada's Potash Corp, sources with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.

Temasek, which manages $134 billion in assets, has been approached, one of the sources told Reuters, but added it had made no decision on whether it will join the consortium that could counter BHP's $39 billion Potash Corp bid.

It was unclear if this potential consortium will bid to buy a blocking stake or make a full counter offer.

A Temasek spokesman declined to comment and Sinochem was not immediately available to comment.

The sources declined to be identified because the talks are not public.

A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier this week that Chinese officials had ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton's bid for Potash Corp. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar in Singapore, with Denny Thomas and Joseph Chaney in Hong Kong; Editing by David Holmes)

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