Kissner’s purchase of Morton to finalize summer 2021

It looks like the $3.2 billion sale of Morton Salt to Kissner Group will finalize sometime next summer, according to reports.

In early October, I posted to Snow Magazine's social media outlets that the deal appeared close, according to a Chicago Crain’s article. However, Bloomberg reported soon after that it received confirmation of the sale from Morton's parent company, K&S AG. K&S had acquired Morton in 2009 for $1.7 billion. It's now selling the salt business to focus on its potash fertilizer business. This current sale price includes debt, according to Bloomberg.

Bringing two major U.S. salt produces together, Kissner, which is controlled by Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, now becomes a powerhouse salt provider to the professional snow and ice management industry. The merger leaves some questions among salt-buying snow professionals about market competition and potential monopoly issues. The market's other major competitors serving the professional snow and ice management industry include American Rock Salt, Cargill and Compass Minerals.

Could we see prolonged anti-trust review by the Federal Trade Commission in the coming months before the ink dries on the deal in Summer 2021? Time will tell.

Buyers supersizes its SaltDogg spreader

Buyers Products has made a larger version of its SaltDogg PRO Series electric spreader. The 9.5-foot PRO3000 model holds three cubic yards of deicing material, which equates to roughly 3.2 tons of bulk #1 rock salt. Buyers engineered its 3-cubic-yard spreader (SHPE3000) with a swing-away chute, which simplifies bulk-unloading extra deicing material and it gives snow professionals the ability to quickly load their walk-behinds on site. Both upgrades are standard features across the entire PRO Series line of spreaders. The PRO3000 joins SaltDogg's existing 1.5-, 2-, and 2.5-cubic-yard Pro Series spreader models.

Zawacki is editor of Lawn & Landscape’s sister publication, Snow Magazine.