Yara International ASA is a Norwegian
chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as well as complex and specialty mineral fertilizer products.[3][4][5]
The company was established in 1905 as
Norsk Hydro — the world's first producer of mineral nitrogen fertilizers — and de-merged as Yara International ASA on March 25, 2004.[6] Yara is listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange and has its headquarters in
Oslo. The company has more than 17,000 employees, production sites on six continents, operations in more than 60 countries and sales to about 150 countries.[7]
The Norwegian government owns more than a third of Yara and is its largest shareholder.[8]
The company used Norway's large hydroelectric-energy resources to produce its first product.[14] Between 1906 and 1919 Norsk Hydro built two hydroelectric power plants in Notodden and
Rjukan.[15] The company sent its first shipment to
China in 1913.
1960–1977
Following the successful production of mineral fertilizer, the company expanded into other businesses such as oil and metals. In 1969, Norsk Hydro entered into its first
joint venture, with authorities in Qatar. With access to a competitive source of gas and a strategic location in the
Middle East, the joint venture opened up a global market for the company.
Norsk Hydro was led by
Johan Berthin Holte as CEO from 1967 until 1977.[16] By the 1970s, the company was established in
Asia, the Middle East and
North America. The late 1970s to the mid-1980s was a period of rapid growth, through the acquisition of major fertilizer companies in
France,
Germany, the
Netherlands and the
UK. At the end of the 1990s, the company was also established in
Brazil and
South Africa.
2004–2008
In 2004, Hydro Agri de-merged from Norsk Hydro and became an independent company called Yara International ASA. The company was listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange on March 25, 2004 and is a leading producer of
ammonia,
nitrates, nitrogen products, and
NPK specialty fertilizers.[17] Since then, Yara has continued to expand its global presence through investments in other countries, with many acquisitions, joint ventures, and new projects, primarily in
Africa and North and
South America.
In July 2006 Yara paid $126 million for a controlling share in Fertibras. This acquisition gave Yara more than 99% of the voting stock in Fertibras[18] and 15% of Fosfertil, the largest producer in Brazil of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers.[18]
2008–2014
In 2008,
Thorleif Enger retired, and
Jørgen Ole Haslestad [
no] became CEO. On his appointment, Haslestad stated: "Yara must continue its growth strategy. The company has many exciting opportunities to pursue, for instance when it comes to the environment, where we contribute to better balance in agricultural development and deliver some interesting industrial solutions to environmental problems."[19] Haslestad held the office until 2014, when the company fired him, saying they needed someone who could complete the upcoming merger negotiations and that Haslestad had been on the point of retiring.[8] Svein Richard Brandtzaeg ten days earlier had decided not to leave Hydro to take over the helm of Yara,[20] after contract negotiations were leaked and charges were laid against Enger, the prior CEO.[21] In January Yara reached an agreement with
Vale to sell its Brazilian shares of Fosfertil for $785 million US.[22] Also in 2010,
ANZ Bank called in the receivers on the 65% share of Burrup owned by, which was later sold to Yara and to Apache Corporation of New York, which had a gas supply agreement with Burrup.[23] In 2016 the Oswal couple was still litigating the fairness of the proceedings, alleging coercion.[23] Radhika has also been accused of dodging a $186 million tax bill. Also in separate proceedings, her husband is alleged to have taken more than $150 million from entities associated with the fertiliser plant and to have spent the money on private planes and other luxury goods. The two left Perth for Dubai in 2010.[23]
On February 25, 2011 the US
Treasury Department lifted sanctions that had been in place against Yara subsidiary Libyan Norwegian Fertilizer because of its affiliation with the Libyan government.[24][25]
In March 2011 the Dutch government froze about €3 billion in Libyan assets, including Yara's Sluiskil joint venture, half-owned by the LIA and the NOCL[26]
On August 3, 2011 Yara announced that it was selling its share in its Russian Rossosh NPK plant for $390 million US, or 2.1 billion kroner (NOK).[27]
In 2013 Yara was enmeshed in a scandal that involved many companies and transactions that may not have taken place,
Dagens Næringsliv. Norway's business daily, reported that Yara had paid over eight million Norwegian krone to
Shukri Ghanem, formerly Libya's prime minister, oil minister, and senior commander of the state oil company. Ghanem had been found dead in the Austrian Danube in 2012.[28] Yara issued fictitious invoices to account for the money transfers, which were deposited in the bank account of a relative of Ghanem in the
UBS Bank in
Switzerland.[28] The Norwegian
(Økokrim) anti-corruption agency noticed the payments in 2011. The head of the upstream segment, Tor Halba, had warned of possible corrupt practices in a 2008 internal email. Investigators came across the payments when they seized business records for two Swiss-based businesses, one of them Yara's fertilizer trading subsidiary, Balderton. Yara's own investigation uncovered additional corruption in India.[28] Økokrim charged the company with gross corruption in both cases.[28]
On October 26, 2013 Yara acquired OFD Holding Inc.(OFD) from Omimex Resources Inc. for US$425 million, gaining production facilities in Colombia and distribution companies across Latin America.[29]
2014
Norwegian authorities had been informed by the company in 2011 that it might have been involved in
corruption in connection with 2008 negotiations leading to 2009's investment of 1.5 billion
Norwegian kroner into a 50% share of Libyan Norwegian Fertiliser Company,[30] or LIFECO.[31]
In January 2014, the corporation agreed to pay a $48 million fine in a case involving corruption between 2004 and 2009. The company admitted bribing senior government officials in India and Libya, as well as to suppliers in Russia and India.[32] The fine was the largest ever of its kind in Norway.[33] The case puts two cohorts of Yara executives up against each other.[34]
On 10 January 2014 the Norwegian Cabinet approved the indictment of former deputy CEO Daniel Clauw in connection with Norway's investigation of Yara.[35] Three other Yara executives were also indicted in the case.[36] They were sentenced July 7, 2015. Enger, the former CEO, received the harshest sentence, three years. The former chief legal officer, Kendrick Wallace, was given a 2½-year sentence, and Clauw and former upstream coordinator Tor Halba were given two-year sentences.[37] Yara International announced in September 2014 that it was in talks with
CF Industries about a possible merger of equals, a deal worth over $27 billion.[38][39]
2015
In
Zambia, Yara acquired Greenbelt Fertilizers, a company with a strong footprint in Zambia,
Mozambique and
Malawi. In September 2015, Svein Tore Holsether joined Yara as the company's new President and CEO. In 2015, the last Yara Prize was awarded before it was turned into the
Africa Food Prize. The prize was launched in 2005. From 2016 and onwards, the Yara Prize has been turned into the Africa Food Prize, in collaboration with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).[40]
In February 2016 the two
urea and two ammonia plants Yara has in Brega were operating at less than 50% of their capacity.[41]
In 2017, Yara ordered the
Yara Birkeland, which will be the world's first autonomous ship. Entering service in 2018, it will be fully autonomous by 2020.[42]
In connection with the
protests in Belarus in 2020, the opposition politician
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called Yara International to stop working with
Belarusian state-owned company
Belaruskali or to ensure that they respect workers' rights. The state-owned company Belaruskali had previously fired employees who had taken part in strikes or demonstrations.[43] In the course of this, Yara published a statement in which they called on the Belarusian state company to stop punishing workers.[44]
30% of the Russian fertilizer producer OAO Minudobreniya ("Rossosh"), bought in February 2005.[46]
In April 2006, an
ammonia plant opened in
Burrup,
Australia. Yara presently holds a 35% stake and is involved in litigation with the other share-holder,
Pankaj Oswal.
In July 2006, Yara bought a controlling interest in the Brazilian fertilizer distribution and marketing company Fertibras.[47]
In September 2006, Yara bought 50% of the Geneva-based trading company Balderton Fertilisers SA.
In May 2007, Yara bought 30.05% of Finnish fertilizer company
Kemira GrowHow and successfully
tendered an offer to buy the rest.[48]
In August 2007, Yara entered into a joint venture with Wilhelmsen Maritime Services that owned 50% of the Norwegian-registered company
Yarwil, which provides emission reduction systems for
NOx emissions from ship engines.[49]
In July 2008, Yara entered into an agreement to acquire Canadian nitrogen producer
SaskFerco, completing the deal in October 2008. Afterwards the fertilizer plant located in
Belle Plaine began to operate as Yara Belle Plaine Inc.[50]
50% of a fertiliser factory in
Brega, owned by Yara as a result of its 50% stake in Libyan Norwegian Fertiliser Company (LIFECO).[51] The co-owners of LIFECO are the
National Oil Corporation of Libya (NOC) and the
Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) — each with 25%.[51] Yara got rid of its stake in
LIFECO, at the end of 2020.[52]
In September 2009, Yara began construction of a new Urea7 factory at
Sluiskil, in the Netherlands.
In October 2009, Qafco, in which Yara has 25% equity interest, signed a letter of intent to build the Qafco-6 expansion project. The project included construction of a
urea plant with a total daily production capacity of 3,850 tons.[53]
In January 2010, Yara acquired the remaining 50% of Balderton Fertilisers.[54]
In December 2012, Yara acquired
Bunge Limited´s fertilizer blending facilities, brands, and warehouses in Brazil. Brazilian antitrust authorities, the
Administrative Council for Economic Defense or Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica in Portuguese (CADE), approved the acquisition in May 2013. Yara and Bunge completed the transaction in August 2013.[55]
In October 2013, Yara acquired the remaining 50% of
Yarwil, previously owned by Wilhelmsen Maritime Services through a
joint venture with Yara.[56]
In November 2013, Yara acquired OFD Holding from Omimex Resources Inc. for fertilizer production facilities in
Colombia and distribution companies in Colombia,
Peru,
Mexico,
Costa Rica,
Panama, and
Bolivia. This transaction further strengthened Yara's downstream footprint and growth platform in Latin America and was highly complementary to its recent acquisition of Bunge's fertilizer business in Brazil.[29]
Libyan Norwegian Fertiliser Company B.V.,[57] registered in the
Netherlands, is co-owned by Yara and "Libyan partners ... with close ties to
Muammar Gaddafi and his clan" according to
Dagens Næringsliv.[58] Authorities[who?] have frozen[when?] the joint venture's bank accounts in the Netherlands.[59]
In 2018, Yara opened a logistics-focused European Business Centre in
Vilnius,
Lithuania.[60]
In 2018, Yara opened its Myanmar office, hiring agronomists and commercial employees for its local operations.[61]
In December 2023, Yara acquired Agribios Italiana, an organic fertilizer business for an undisclosed amount.[62]
Chairmen
Leif Teksum (2014—incumbent). Replaced Bernt Reitan after the annual general meeting on May 5, 2014.[63] Teksum oversaw DNB's Swedish and Norwegian portfolio, and headed DNB's Norwegian business market and international operations before becoming Yara's chairman.[64]
Bernt Reitan ( 2012—2014) announced in April 2014 he that he would not seek another term after May 2014.[65][66] In September 2012 the election committee of Yara announced that they were unaware that Reitan's former employer,
ALCOA was under investigated for corruption by the
United States.[64][67]
^Eyde, Sam (1909). "The Manufacture of Nitrates from the Atmosphere by the Electric Arc — Birkeland–Eyde Process". Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. 57 (2949): 568–576.
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^Aaron John Ihde (1984). The development of modern chemistry. Courier Dover Publications. p. 678.
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Office of Foreign Assets Control (November 18, 2011).
"Specially Designated Nationals Update". Libya Designations Removals. US Department of the Treasury. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
^Dagens Næringsliv,
DN Magasinet, 2011-04-16, p.53: "Det har opprettet et selskap i Nederland sammen med libyske partnere som skulle vise seg å ha tette forbindelser til Muammar Gadaffi og hans klan."