Sinochem, the Chinese state-owned chemicals group, is trying to recruit at least one sovereign wealth fund and a Canadian pension fund for a consortium to block BHP Billiton’s $39bn hostile takeover of PotashCorp of Canada.
People familiar with the discussions said Temasek, the Singapore state investment agency, had been approached to join the consortium, along with several Canadian pension funds, including Alberta Investment Management, a pension fund with $66bn under management.
Temasek refused to comment. However, a person close to the talks said the agency was thinking about the proposal. The Canadian pension fund acknowledged the approach but told reporters last week that it was not interested in potash at this time.