In Monday’s Globe and Mail, Ken Smith, CME’s Associate Dean, Executive Programs, is quoted in a Gordon Pitts story on the proposed takeover of Saskatchewan’s Potash Corp. by Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd.
Smith knows the importance of setting the right parameters in such high-stakes international takeovers. Prior to joining the University of Guelph in August, Smith was a senior consultant with Secor Consulting. Smith was the lead author of a 2008 report for a Canadian competition policy review on the 2001 merger of Australia’s BHP Ltd. with the London-based Billiton PLC – the same merged entity now attempting to acquire Canada’s Potash Corp.
In Monday’s Globe story, Smith argues that the BHP-Billiton model offers a model for ensuring the proposed takeover of Potash Corp. strikes the right balance between “preserving national champions without appearing hostile to foreign investment.”
