BASF to prepare agricultural business for IPO, reports Bloomberg
Adds details throughout
FRANKFURT, Sept 18 (Reuters) -BASF BASFn.DE plans to prepare its agricultural chemicals business for an initial public offering in the next few years as part of restructuring measures set to be announced by the chemicals group this month, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
BASF's new CEO, Markus Kamieth, will announce a series of overhaul measures at the capital markets day set for Sep. 26-27, including plans for the future of its coatings business, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
While the agricultural chemicals business is to be prepared for a listing, the German firm could also signal its willingness to sell parts of the coatings business or bring in a partner.
BASF declined to comment on the report.
"We will publish information on our strategy next week at our capital markets day," a company spokesperson told Reuters.
BASF shares rose 3.6%,the top gainer in the DAX, following the report.
According to Bloomberg, BASF could also announce plans for the further development of the battery materials business.
The proceeds from the sale of assets could be used to strengthen the balance sheet, according to the report.
In December last year, BASF announced plans to turn its agriculture, battery materials and coatings businesses into autonomous units in a bid to try to boost earnings.
However, previous CEO Martin Brudermueller said at the time that there was no intention to sell these businesses.
BASF's Agricultural Solutions unit had about 10 billion euros in sales last year, competing with Bayer, Corteva CTVA.N and China's Syngenta.
($1 = 0.8990 euros)
Reporting by Patricia Weiss
Writing by Miranda Murray
Editing by Madeline Chambers and Elaine Hardcastle
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
