orocco’s Competition Council published on October 8 the summary of a deal under which KAES Phosphate Holdings, a Delaware company ultimately controlled by the American conglomerate Koch, Inc., would acquire 50% of the capital and voting rights of Jorf Fertilizers Company I (JFC1), a wholly owned subsidiary of OCP Nutricrops, and share control of it with OCP’s unit. JFC1 runs three units at Jorf Lasfar, devoted to phosphoric acid, phosphate fertilizers and sulfuric acid; according to Koch, the plant can produce up to 1.2 million metric tons of fertilizer a year. Interested third parties have until October 19 to submit their comments.
The agreement was signed on July 17 by Koch Ag & Energy Solutions and OCP Nutricrops and remains subject to regulatory approval. It extends an alliance formed in 2022, when Koch took half of Jorf Fertilizers Company III, renamed Kofert: once the deal closes, the two joint ventures will total some 2.5 million metric tons of annual capacity. Koch saw in it a gateway to the North American market, helped by the temporary suspension of U.S. countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizers. Should the Council give its approval, Jorf Lasfar, which Koch describes as the world’s largest phosphate fertilizer platform, will count a second plant held in equal shares with the Wichita group.
Photo: BCInsight.
Conseil de la concurrence - Communiqué du Conseil de la concurrence relatif au projet de concentration économique concernant l’acquisition par la société « KAES Phosphate Holdings, LLC » du contrôle conjoint de la société « Jorf Fertilizers Company I, SA »
Koch Ag & Energy Solutions - Koch Ag & Energy Solutions and OCP to Expand Long-Standing Partnership with New Joint Venture
