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FERTILISER firm CF Industries has re-entered the race for rival Terra Industries, submitting a $4.7b offer that trumps the deal its target’s board recently agreed with third party Yara Industries.

CF ceo Stephen Wilson called off his company’s year-long pursuit for Terra in January saying he could not justify raising his reported $3.88b offer to the value he believed Terra would agree to. A month later Terra welcomed a $4.1b bid from Norwegian rival Yara that promises to create the world’s largest fertiliser producer.

The announcement and its terms have prompted CF to return to the fray. CF has sent a letter to the  Terra board outlining it incomprehension at refusals to requests for details that would allow it to revalue its bid.

“As you are aware, we were advised that no information would be provided to us because “Terra is not for sale,” the letter says.

With proof that is no longer the case, CF has offered a cash and share bid that values Terra at $4.7b. “Now that Terra is for sale, we have made an offer that is superior to Yara’s substantially lower, highly conditional offer,” says Wilson – a reference to expectations that the Yara tie-up with the legislative and regulatory hurdles it has to leap will take a long time to complete.

CF is itself a target of a $5.5b takeover by fellow fertiliser firm Agrium. CF has resisted its advances since March 2009 though after it stopped chasing Terra, analysts questioned how much longer it could fend off suitors. Agrium ceo Mike Watson said late last month that he remains fully committed to acquiring CF.

“The recent Yara merger agreement with Terra illustrates the important benefits of being part of a larger, global company,” said Watson. “We believe CF will recognise this as well, despite the fact that CF has so far ignored a clear mandate from its own shareholders to execute a mutually beneficial merger agreement with us.”