PARIS (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 26, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Norway-based fertilizer producer and distributor Yara International ASA (BBB/Positive/A-2) are currently unchanged following the company's announcement of early-stage discussions with U.S.-based CF Industries Inc. (BBB-/Stable/--) regarding a potential merger of equals. Given that the talks are preliminary and that there are still several hurdles to overcome, we are uncertain at this stage that the merger will close. The funding implications, if any, are also unclear at this stage. If the transaction were to proceed with no additional net debt, we would likely rate Yara at least at the current level. Yara's credit metrics have been very strong for the ratings in
