Offshore firms buy into Russia's Silvinit

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Silvinit SILV.MM, Russia's No. 1 potash producer at the center of takeover speculation, said on Sunday two offshore firms have bought large minority stakes, without identifying the people behind the deals.

Fenguard Ltd and Forman Commercial Ltd have bought 20 percent and 24 percent stakes in Silvinit respectively, the world's fifth-largest potash producer said in a statement.

The company provided no information about the people behind the offshore companies and Silvinit officials were not immediately available to comment.

According to media reports last month, Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov is eyeing a merger between Silvinit and rival Uralkali (URKA.MM), where he is the largest shareholder, to create the world's second-biggest potash miner.

Sources told Reuters last week that global majors Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) and Potash Corp (POT.TO) may buy into Uralkali, as the government seeks a full overhaul of the fertilizers industry.

Silvinit said on Sunday that the new shareholders had said they would keep unchanged its current exports via the International Potash Company (IPC). Silvinit said the sellers of its stakes to the offshore investors included Eventus Aktiengesellschaft, Hustell Trading Limited, IBH Beteiligungs und Handelges and RI Realinvest SA.

Russia is seeking to become a greater agricultural force as part of bold plans to diversify the economy away from oil and gas. Potash is a key component of fertilizer, and increasingly valuable commodity for farmers as the world's population grows.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Erica Billingham)