Nasser: A Familar Name in Potash Battle

The takeover battle that has erupted over Potash puts a name from 1990s corporate America back in the limelight.
In his first year as chairman of BHP Billiton, Jacques Nasser, the former chief executive of Ford Motor, is helping lead his company’s pursuit of Potash, a Canadian fertilizer giant. Mr. Nasser wrote to his counterpart at Potash on Aug. 13, outlining BHP Billiton’s $38.6 billion offer
The offer, according to a copy of the letter on The Financial Times’s Web site (PDF), “provides shareholders with value certainty and an immediate opportunity to realize the value of their shares in the face of volatile equity markets.”
BHP, the letter says, had “fully negotiated a financing facilities agreement with our relationship banks, which is sufficient to fund the transaction,” which is all cash.
Mr. Nasser, a 62-year-old Australian, is no stranger to the acquisition game. As chief executive of Ford, he oversaw the acquisitions of Volvo and Land Rover  — businesses that the company later sold off.
After his ouster from Ford in 2001, Mr. Nasser soon landed on his feet and joined One Equity Partners, a private-equity unit of Bank One, which later merged with JPMorgan Chase. One Equity bought instant photo pioneer Polaroid out of bankruptcy for $255 million  and made Mr. Nasser chairman. Less than three years later, One Equity sold the company to Petters Group Worldwide for $426 million.
(JPMorgan is serving as BHP’s financial adviser.)
In Australia, Mr. Nasser was in the news earlier this year for speaking out against a proposal by the government to impose a 40 percent tax on natural resources.