Both the Mosaic Co. and Cargill jointly announced a deal under which there will be distribution of Cargill's sixty four percent stakes in Mosaic to Cargill's shareholders and debt holders.

In the transaction, Cargill will exchange as much as one hundred and seventy nine million of its two hundred and eighty six million Mosaic shares with Cargill shareholders, including charitable trusts, for all or a portion of their Cargill stock.

Cargill has plans to exchange all of its remaining one hundred and seven million Mosaic shares for Cargill debt owned by third parties. The transaction is expected to be tax free to Cargill, Mosaic and their respective shareholders. At Tuesday's closing price, the debt would be worth just over nine billion dollars.

On Tuesday, Cargill Inc. the agribusiness conglomerate said that it will give out its sixty four percent stakes in fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. to Cargill stakeholders and debt holders in a bid to enhance Cargill's credit profile and keep it a private company.

The move might be an attempt to restrain stakeholders who wanted to take Cargill public, and it also turns Mosaic more attractive for an acquisition as stated by industry analysts.

Cargill is one of the biggest private companies in the world, owns two hundred and eighty six million shares of Mosaic. Tuesday, shares in Mosaic closed at eighty five dollars and seven cents but declined by 1.7 percent or one dollar and forty four cents to trade at eighty three dollars and sixty three cents in after-market trading.

The deal has to be approved by holders of a majority of Mosaic's shares that aren't held by Cargill stakeholders. It's expected to close in the second quarter, the companies said.

Mosaic further said that the deal will help it become better placed to take advantage of the positive outlook for concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrient , important ingredients in fertilizers.