Hesse government denies it aware of hostile Potash bid for K+S

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's regional government of Hesse, the home state of K+S, denied a newspaper report saying it was aware that Potash Corp was planning a hostile takeover bid for the German company.

Handelsblatt reported earlier on Tuesday that Canada's Potash was prepared to launch a hostile takeover bid for is rival K+S and had informed state leaders in Hesse.

Government officials had two meetings with representatives of Potash, Michael Busser, spokesman for the Wiesbaden-based administration said on Tuesday in an emailed statement.

"But a hostile takeover was explicitly not discussed in either of the two meetings," Busser said. "Quite the contrary, in none of those meetings did Potash reveal its concrete plans. The state government, out of concern for thousands of jobs, has always supported the independence of K+S."

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; editing by David Clarke)