Cominco Fertilizers Taking A New Name

Calgary-based Cominco Fertilizers Ltd. said Tuesday that it is changing its company name and seeking to be listed on the NASDAQ national stock market in the United States.

Pending shareholder approval, the company plans to change its name to Agrium Inc. to reflect its focus on farming and agriculture. Cominco’s current name originated from its past as a subsidiary of Cominco Ltd., a Vancouver, B.C., mining concern that spun off the fertilizer division two years ago.

Cominco Fertilizers also has filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., to be listed on NASDAQ. Investors currently can buy Cominco shares only through the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is less accessible and requires a currency exchange.

Cominco Fertilizers’s Western field office is located in Spokane. About 2,500 of the company’s 3,000 employees are in the United States.