UPDATE: CANADIAN fertiliser giant Agrium plans to keep the AWB Limited business intact if its $1.24 billion bid for the Australian company is successful.
But the company also said it was also "keeping its options open'' on the AWB grain trading, storage and handling operations.
Agrium this week offered $1.50 in cash for each AWB share, trumping GrainCorp's two-week-old bid for the former monopoly wheat marketer by about 50 per cent.
Agrium is a retailer of fertilisers and crop protection products, operating hundreds of agricultural retail outlets extensively in North America and South America.
But it has no grain trading, storage or handling operations in its existing portfolio of businesses.
Agrium president and chief executive officer Mike Wilson said there were no specific plans to carve off AWB's commodity and grain storage and handling operations.
"We want to sit down with AWB management and understand their reasoning for disposing of those businesses,'' Mr Wilson said.
"We think those businesses bring a lot of value (to Agrium).
"There may be opportunities for partnerships in grain handling.
"But we want a major say in that business.''
Mr Wilson said Agrium's global retail and wholesale business centred on supplying inputs to farmers.
Agrium's major attraction to AWB was the Landmark division, which was similar to its existing retail outlets in Canada, the US, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Mr Wilson said the AWB model of also selling farm commodities to world markets added an attraction which might be transferred to other parts of Agrium's businesses.
He said Agrium had been looking at investing in Australia for about three years and AWB was one of the options considered.
He denied this week's move was prompted by GrainCorp's takeover bid for AWB.
"Australian is a logical place for us and AWB's the right company,'' he said.
Mr Wilson said Agrium would use AWB as a regional hub for expansion into Asia.
He said Agrium planned to have an Australian head office and planned on "adding people and new products'' to the business.
Agrium chief financial officer Bruce Waterman said the company had sufficient cash and existing lines of credit to pay for the takeover.
Agrium's 2008-09 revenue was $US9.1 billion ($A10.2 billion) and a market capitalisation of $US10.56 billion ($A11.83 billion).
A GrainCorp spoemsna said the company hd no comment on whether it would offer a counter bid.
But industry analysts doubt whether GrainCorp can put up a counter offer, especially since it is still trying to bed down the United Malt Holdings global malting operation.
Lack of a counter bid also left GrainCorp at a size more vulnerable to takeover in the immediate term.
Along with a number of other Australian agribusiness vulnerable to takeover, GrainCorp shares also rose 26 cents to end yesterday's trade at $6.53.
AWB said yesterday the Agrium offer was "unsolicited'' and was subject to the Canadian company conducting due diligence with respect to certain financial and legal matters.
It said the Agrium bid might not eventuate into a deal, so it was continuing to work on the scheme of arrangement with GrainCorp.
AWB spokesman Peter McBride said today there was no further comment from the company.
Mr Wilson said the due diligence process should take less two weeks or less.
After that, the Canadian company was expected to make an unconditional formal offer for the AWB board to consider.
AWB shares jumped 35 cents to $1.445 after the bid announcement became public, but closed today at $1.43.
