DBRS Assigns BBB Stable Rating to Agrium New Senior Unsecured Notes

DBRS has today finalized its rating of BBB with a Stable trend on the $500 million aggregate principal amount of 6.125% senior unsecured notes due January 15, 2041 (the New Notes) to be issued by Agrium Inc. (Agrium or the Company). DBRS assigned a provisional rating of BBB with a Stable trend to the New Notes on December 15, 2010 (see related news release). DBRS views the issuance of the New Notes as a positive step in Agrium’s initiative to put in place long-term financing to replace the $125 million of senior unsecured senior notes due in February 2011 and to help fund the Company’s recent acquisition of AWB Limited (AWB).

The provisional rating of the New Notes was based upon: (1) Agrium’s shelf prospectus dated November 20, 2009, as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated November 12, 2010; (2) the Company’s preliminary Prospectus Supplement, dated December 15, 2010; (3) Agrium’s public security document filings, including its third quarter 2010 report and its 2009 annual report; (4) public documents relating to AWB, the AWB acquisition and the prospective disposition of AWB’s commodity management businesses; and (5) other information provided by Agrium to DBRS as of December 15, 2010.

The Company’s prospectus supplement filed with the SEC on December 16, 2010, is in DBRS’s view consistent with the materials previously reviewed hence the assignment of a BBB rating with a Stable trend for the New Notes.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodology is Rating Mining, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.