ICL Acquires Fuentes, Spain's Leading Specialty Fertilizers Company

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- Second Acquisition in Recent Months in Rapidly-Growing Specialty Fertilizers Sector

- Revenues from Specialty Fertilizers Market to Reach $650M

ICL ICL, a multinational fertilizer and specialty chemicals company, today announced that it acquired Grupo Empresarial Agromediterraneo, S.L., the holding company of Antonio Fuentes Mendez S.A., ("Fuentes"), Spain's largest producer of specialty fertilizers, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase includes Fuentes' line of proprietary liquid and soluble fertilizers and bulk blends, its production facilities located in Totana and Cartagena, Spain, as well as warehouses, port facilities and logistics centers located throughout southern and eastern Spain. Fuentes' 2010 revenues were approximately EU 113 million. Following the acquisition, Fuentes and its wholly-owned operating subsidiaries become a part of ICL Specialty Fertilizers, a business unit of ICL Fertilizers. ICL financed the acquisition from its own resources.

The acquisition of Fuentes establishes ICL as the leading supplier of specialty fertilizers in the rapidly-growing Spanish market. Fuentes markets a broad line of branded high-quality liquid and water soluble fertilizers (WSF) and bulk blends. It sells its products primarily in southern and eastern Spain, which accounts for 75% of the Spanish market for specialty fertilizers. In these regions, sales of WSF fertilizers are growing by 8% to 12% per annum, compared to relatively flat growth for traditional fertilizers. Fuentes also possesses strong R&D capabilities in the liquid and soluble fertilizers areas.

ICL's acquisition of Fuentes represents a further step by ICL in its strategy to broaden its activities in the specialty fertilizers sector, a market which it has identified as possessing the potential for strong growth. It follows ICL's recent $270 million purchase of the Global Professional business of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company ("Global Pro"). These acquisitions establish ICL Specialty Fertilizers as a global $650 million specialty fertilizers company with a broad, recognized product portfolio of soluble, liquid, slow-release and control release fertilizers, strong global sales and marketing capabilities, production facilities in the US, EU and Israel, and a particularly strong presence in Spain, the EU's largest consumer of specialty fertilizers.

In addition to positioning ICL Specialty Fertilizers as the leading provider of downstream fertilizer products in Spain, the acquisition provides ICL with a strong platform for expanding its activities in Spain and elsewhere in the EU and North Africa. The acquisition also diversifies ICL Specialty Fertilizers product offerings, enhances its production and R&D capabilities and improves its geographic marketing reach. ICL intends to realize operating synergies from the acquisition, especially in the areas of marketing in the Spanish market, raw materials, R&D and logistics.

"Our acquisition of Fuentes' specialty fertilizers business, following our recent purchase of Scotts' Global Pro business, further demonstrates our intention to become a leading player in downstream, high-growth fertilizer markets," commented Mr. Yossi Shahar, ICL's Executive VP, Corporate Development. "It gives us clear leadership of the Spanish specialty fertilizers market while enhancing our product portfolio, R&D capabilities, production, logistical and marketing capabilities."

Mr. Yossi Zidon, Senior VP, ICL Specialty Fertilizers, added, "We are very excited to move forward so rapidly with our plan to build ICL into a major Special Fertilizers player. The acquisition of Fuentes builds our presence in Spain - an important end-market as well as a strategic gateway to Northern Africa and the EU - while building out our brands, sales, logistics and manufacturing capabilities. We welcome the entire Fuentes team into the ICL family and look forward to working together to accelerate the growth and profitability of ICL Specialty Fertilizers."

About ICL

ICL is one of the world's leading fertilizer and specialty chemicals companies. For a world challenged by population growth and scarce resources, ICL makes products that increase global food and water supplies and improve industrial materials and processes. ICL is the world's number one producer of elemental bromine and organophosphorus flame retardants, and is the 6th largest potash producer in the world. ICL is also the number one producer of PK fertilizers (compound potash & phosphate), a leading supplier of fertilizers in Europe and a major player in specialty fertilizer market segments. One of the world's most integrated manufacturers and suppliers of phosphate products, ICL is also the world's leading provider of pure phosphoric acid and specialty phosphates.

ICL's major production activities are located in Israel, Europe, the US, South America and China, and are supported by major global marketing and logistics networks.

ICL's shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ICL.

About ICL Fertilizers

ICL Fertilizers, one of ICL's three operating segments, produces commodity and specialty fertilizers and markets them throughout the world. The world's sixth largest producer of potash, ICL Fertilizers' potash mining operations are at Israel's Dead Sea, and in Spain and England. ICL Fertilizers' Rotem Amfert Negev Division mines phosphate rock from Israel's Negev desert and uses it to manufacture phosphate fertilizers and phosphoric acid. In addition, ICL Fertilizers produces complex fertilizers as well as inputs for value-added downstream products. ICL Fertilizers sells its products to customers throughout the world, with an emphasis on Europe, Brazil, India, China and Israel.

About ICL Specialty Fertilizers

ICL Specialty Fertilizers (ICL-SF), a business unit of ICL Fertilizers, produces a broad line of proprietary high-quality controlled-release fertilizers (CRF), water-soluble fertilizers (WSF), plant protection products, wetting agents, growing media and grass seeds, for specialty crop growers, commercial nurseries and greenhouses throughout the world. ICL-SF is one of the world's leading producers of fully water-soluble monopotassium phosphate fertilizers (MKP) distributed under the brand name PeaK(R). ICL-SF's other brands include Osmocote, Sierrablen, Peters Professional, Ferti-K fully-soluble white KCl for fertigation and the NutriVant line of fully-soluble, long-lasting formulations for foliar nutrition.

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SOURCE ICL - Israel Chemicals Ltd