Saskatoon - Nutrien Head Office

[Stormer]

In my opinion this is a huge deal for Saskatoon, particularly as it relates to office tower construction, and deserves it own thread. Nutrien will be one of Canada's largest multi-national corporation and by far the largest with a Saskatchewan head office. The news reports on this issue have been as clear as mud. From what I can determine, the current CEO of Agrium will remain in Calgary and will be the CEO of Nutrien. It is not clear where the Potash Corp CEO, who will become Executive Chair, is to be located.

I cannot see how you can have a head office without the CEO and other top executives present. Further I believe Saskatchewan legislation still requires this:

PCS head office operations
"3(1) In this section:
(a) 'head office' means the office or offices at which head office functions are normally conducted;
(b) 'head office functions' means the functions that, as at the date this
Act is assented to, are being carried out in Saskatchewan by:
(i) the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of PCS and all other senior executives of PCS and its subsidiaries; and
(ii) all management and support personnel carrying out the collective executive, corporate planning, senior administrative, general management, administrative and other functions of PCS and its subsidiaries;
and includes those functions that may be prescribed in the regulations;
(c) 'PCS' means Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. and includes any continuation of that corporation resulting from one or more amalgamations or reorganizations and any successor to that corporation;

[Echoes]

I wish that local media would pick up on this.

I know of a few reporters that lurk around here...

[casper]

Originally Posted by Stormer

In my opinion this is a huge deal for Saskatoon, particularly as it relates to office tower construction, and deserves it own thread. Nutrien will be one of Canada's largest multi-national corporation and by far the largest with a Saskatchewan head office. The news reports on this issue have been as clear as mud. From what I can determine, the current CEO of Agrium will remain in Calgary and will be the CEO of Nutrien. It is not clear where the Potash Corp CEO, who will become Executive Chair, is to be located.

I cannot see how you can have a head office without the CEO and other top executives present. Further I believe Saskatchewan legislation still requires this:

PCS head office operations
"3(1) In this section:
(a) 'head office' means the office or offices at which head office functions are normally conducted;
(b) 'head office functions' means the functions that, as at the date this
Act is assented to, are being carried out in Saskatchewan by:
(i) the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of PCS and all other senior executives of PCS and its subsidiaries; and
(ii) all management and support personnel carrying out the collective executive, corporate planning, senior administrative, general management, administrative and other functions of PCS and its subsidiaries;
and includes those functions that may be prescribed in the regulations;
(c) 'PCS' means Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. and includes any continuation of that corporation resulting from one or more amalgamations or reorganizations and any successor to that corporation;

The CEO of a corporation of this scale spends a significant percentage of his time on the road. Living in Calgary, the head office in Saskatoon and the CEO spends 3 out of every 5 week days on the corporate jet is not an unreasonable expectation. Regardless of where the CEO has his home, it is good news for Saskatoon.

[Echoes]

Premier Wall says he expects head-office pledge to be honoured after PotashCorp-Agrium merger

Alex MacPherson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Published on: August 30, 2017 | Last Updated: August 30, 2017 4:19 PM CST
​

​Premier Brad Wall says he expects the “spirit and the letter” of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan’s pledge to the province after BHP Billiton’s failed takeover attempt to be reflected in Nutrien Ltd. — the company being formed when PotashCorp and Agrium merge later this year.

To that extent, Wall told reporters Wednesday in Regina, the province’s newly-minuted energy and resource minister Nancy Heppner will be contacting Saskatoon-based PotashCorp as well as Agrium, which is headquartered in Calgary, in the coming weeks to ensure that Nutrien’s head office is in Saskatchewan.

In a Sept. 12, 2016 news release announcing the merger, which will create a company valued at US$26 billion and with around 20,000 employees, PotashCorp and Agrium said the then-unnamed firm’s “registered head office” will be in Saskatoon, with corporate offices in Saskatoon and Calgary. A registered head office can be, but is not necessarily, the office where a firm’s executives work.

“We want to ensure that Saskatchewan, as the head office for this company, has the maximum number of head office jobs, that the presence in this province is indisputably the head office,” Wall told reporters Wednesday after shuffling his 17-member cabinet.

In a 2011 letter to Wall, former PotashCorp chief executive Bill Doyle made seven commitments, including a pledge that the company would maintain “a strong and vital corporate headquarters” in the province, with 11 of its 14 senior executives living and working in Saskatoon. Some of those executives had previously worked out of an office in Northbrook, Illinois.

In a return letter, Wall accepted Doyle’s pledge and said he appreciated PotashCorp’s commitment to expand its head office staff in Saskatoon by 40 per cent, to 300 positions, by the end of 2013, as well as have 11 of the firm’s senior executives move to the city by March. 31, 2011.

In 2010, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government blocked BHP Billiton’s $40-billion hostile bid, arguing that it wouldn’t provide a “net benefit” for Canada. Ottawa had been under pressure from the provincial government, which was concerned about job losses and the loss of control of a valuable resource.

PotashCorp and Agrium recently said the merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017.

—With Leader-Post files from D.C. Fraser

amacpherson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/macphersona

[Stormer]

The Province needs to be tough on this. They could make life miserable for Nutrien if they choose (royalties, regulation, enforcement).

[Stormer]

I guess the old law I cited below was repealed and all we have is the 2011 letter from Bill Doyle.
http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local...ime=1504267494


https://twitter.com/PremierBradWall/...98482434686976

[prairieguy]

oh..oh.....

[blacktrojan3921]

I honestly won't be surprised if Nutrien does indeed relocate to Calgary. As much as I appreciate Mr. Wall for all the good he has done for the provincial economy, I have high doubts he will actually try to make them keep the headquarters here.

The Saskatchewan Party is pro-business, and is likely paying lip service, not wanting to realize that business will just go where the money fits them better. And unfortunately for us, the money is better fitted in Alberta, even with an NDP government.

[casper]

Originally Posted by blacktrojan3921

I honestly won't be surprised if Nutrien does indeed relocate to Calgary. As much as I appreciate Mr. Wall for all the good he has done for the provincial economy, I have high doubts he will actually try to make them keep the headquarters here.

The Saskatchewan Party is pro-business, and is likely paying lip service, not wanting to realize that business will just go where the money fits them better. And unfortunately for us, the money is better fitted in Alberta, even with an NDP government.

With modern technology, I think it is becoming less important to have all head-office functions in one location. The CEO may have his office in Calgary, but if most of the back-office functions remain in Saskatoon it is not going to be a major issue for running a company of that scale.

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by casper

With modern technology, I think it is becoming less important to have all head-office functions in one location. The CEO may have his office in Calgary, but if most of the back-office functions remain in Saskatoon it is not going to be a major issue for running a company of that scale.

I think you'd be surprised how large a portion of execs in the 50-70 range can barely use an iPhone haha. I would say most executives still rely on person to person meetings - especially in a mining company where 90% of the executives are older white men that never grew up learning how to type on a keyboard.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by blacktrojan3921

I honestly won't be surprised if Nutrien does indeed relocate to Calgary. As much as I appreciate Mr. Wall for all the good he has done for the provincial economy, I have high doubts he will actually try to make them keep the headquarters here.

The Saskatchewan Party is pro-business, and is likely paying lip service, not wanting to realize that business will just go where the money fits them better. And unfortunately for us, the money is better fitted in Alberta, even with an NDP government.

Wall better raise a stink about it if they try to base themselves in Calgary. Isn't this the premier who embarrassed himself earlier this year by offering incentives for mining companies to relocate here from Alberta? It'd be pathetic if he can't do the same for an actual Saskatchewan company.

[prairieguy]

I would venture to say that a company the scale of Nutrien could care less about provincial politics. Their profits are likely more then that of the entire provincial economy, so they will go where they determine best meets the needs of their operations. Of course I want the majority of employees to based in Saskatoon (perhaps as a major tenant in River Landing), but do I think that will happen??....no.....

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

I would venture to say that a company the scale of Nutrien could care less about provincial politics. Their profits are likely more then that of the entire provincial economy, so they will go where they determine best meets the needs of their operations. Of course I want the majority of employees to based in Saskatoon (perhaps as a major tenant in River Landing), but do I think that will happen??....no.....

I disagree. the Sask economy is about $80B. Nutrien's profit will be around $1B. Market Cap around $30B.

A very significant portion of its business is potash, 100% of which is mined is SK. The Government will have significant leverage through taxation, royalty and regulatory policies.

[Echoes]

Wall pledges to look at 'every option' to enforce 2011 PotashCorp pledge

Alex MacPherson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Published on: September 6, 2017 | Last Updated: September 6, 2017 6:12 PM CST

Premier Brad Wall says his government won’t rule out using legislation or the province’s potash royalty structure to maximize the number of corporate headquarters jobs in Saskatchewan once the US$26 billion merger of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. closes later this year.

Wall, who last week spoke out about former PotashCorp CEO Bill Doyle’s 2011 pledge to maintain a “strong and vital corporate headquarters” in the province, told reporters on Wednesday that potash mining companies currently receive incentives based on head office jobs in Saskatchewan.

“If we were able to provide that incentive we could also move the other way,” the premier said, adding that while Chuck Magro’s decision to maintain his primary residence in Calgary after taking over as CEO of the post-merger firm Nutrien Ltd. is “not optimal,” he is more concerned about maximizing the number of jobs in the province.

Echoing previous comments, PotashCorp spokesman Bill Cooper said in an email that the merger will create benefits for all of the combined companies’ shareholders and that PotashCorp’s “operations and workforce in Saskatchewan will remain core to the combined company.”

The merger, which remains under regulatory review, was announced in September 2016. It is expected to create a company with six of the province’s 10 potash mines, other assets around the world and about 20,000 employees. The company has said its “registered head office” will be in Saskatoon with corporate offices in Saskatoon and Calgary, where Agrium is based.

Alberta NDP economic development minister Deron Bilous said in a statement that Alberta has the lowest overall taxes in the country and Calgary is “one of Canada’s best cities for international operations.” Agrium has kept his government briefed on the merger, and it understands it will be “business as usual” for that company’s 2,000 workers in the province, Bilous added.

[....]

http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local...ashcorp-pledge

[prairieguy]

Is Potash Corp really bound to any "agreement" once the merger and formation of a new company is completed? I say Mr. Wall is on very thin ice here...
I really hope we can at minimum maintain the potash component of head office jobs, but as cited in the article....Alberta is not going to sit idly by and watch this play out. There will also be strong lobbying coming from that government and City of Calgary.

Maybe City of Saskatoon can offer some kind of special incentive to get them to seriously consider Saskatoon as more then a "registered" head office.

[Arts]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

Is Potash Corp really bound to any "agreement" once the merger and formation of a new company is completed? I say Mr. Wall is on very thin ice here...
I really hope we can at minimum maintain the potash component of head office jobs, but as cited in the article....Alberta is not going to sit idly by and watch this play out. There will also be strong lobbying coming from that government and City of Calgary.

Maybe City of Saskatoon can offer some kind of special incentive to get them to seriously consider Saskatoon as more then a "registered" head office.

I agree with you on this, once this new entity is formed is the old one dissolved? And I'm not even sure such an agreement was enforceable anyway - as long as the head office operated within the provincial jurisdiction they were subject to whatever provincial legislation we had however there was never anything really keeping them from just moving it entirely. As for the mines or any other local presence, they will still be subject to SK laws, but if Nutrien wants to pack it in in SK that is their legal right. Wall would be a hypocrite for claiming to be pro-enterprise while also complaining about this (especially after using equally evasive tactics to shut down STC - effectively forcing the service into the private sector).

And like you say, Calgary will not sit by idly over the loss of a major corporate presence:
http://calgaryherald.com/news/politi...-potash-merger

[mmx]

Candidates: The old Sears store at Midtown Plaza, the old ToysRUs site across 20th, the proposed World Trade Centre, the old Mendel Art Gallery. Any others?

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by mmx

Candidates: The old Sears store at Midtown Plaza, the old ToysRUs site across 20th, the proposed World Trade Centre, the old Mendel Art Gallery. Any others?

idylwyld and 22nd. the 2 lots behind cactus club. i think those 2 lots are PRIME.

always wanted toys r us lot to be developed.

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by mmx

Candidates: The old Sears store at Midtown Plaza, the old ToysRUs site across 20th, the proposed World Trade Centre, the old Mendel Art Gallery. Any others?

Mendel? You mental? That will never happen.

Plenty of parking lots to build on first, why tear down buildings that are occupied, just for some offices....

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Dalreg

Mendel? You mental? That will never happen.

Plenty of parking lots to build on first, why tear down buildings that are occupied, just for some offices....

This happens all the time. The City does not force developers to build on parking lots that they don't even own.