Covestro opens door to ADNOC deal after it raises bid to $12.5 bln
Covestro believes two sides can reach understanding
ADNOC has increased offer to 62 euros/share
Covestro shares jump 6%
Adds investor comment in paragraphs 7, 8, updates shares
By Ludwig Burger, Emma-Victoria Farr and Patricia Weiss
FRANKFURT, June 24 (Reuters) -Germany's Covestro 1COV.DE said on Monday it was stepping up talks with ADNOC ADNOC.UL after the Emirati energy company made an improved 11.7 billion euro ($12.5 billion) takeover bid following more than a year of pursuing the chemicals firm.
Covestro, which makes plastics and chemicals for construction and engineering, said it was opening its books to ADNOC and believed the two sides could "generally reach a common understanding regarding core aspects of a possible transaction including support for Covestro's further growth strategy".
Talks, which had previously been described as open-ended, will now be "concrete negotiations", with Covestro saying it will provide Abu Dhabi National Oil Co with due diligence information after it made a 62 euros per share offer.
That was up from 60 euros previously, based on what people familiar with the talks had told Reuters.
Shares in Covestro, which said talks would proceed "in a timely manner" and there was no certainty of an agreement, were up 6% to 54.3 euros at 1356 GMT.
"We welcome the fact that Covestro is now negotiating with ADNOC," said Arne Rautenberg, fund manager at Union Investment, which LSEG data shows as one of Covestro's top-10 shareholders.
"But from an investor's point of view, there is still room for improvement regarding the 62 euros-per-share offer price."
It has taken more than a year to get to this stage. ADNOC's initial informal offer was reported in June 2023, but it was not until September last year that the Covestro entered into talks.
"We look forward to jointly working with Covestro to swiftly progress due diligence for this important transaction," an ADNOC spokesperson said, adding that this was a final offer.
The length of talks would suggest that many of issues are likely to be well advanced, Jefferies analyst said in a note.
Covestro said it had postponed until further notice its capital markets day scheduled for June 27 "in light of the recent developments".
ADNOC has been pursuing several European targets.
It has also been in talks with Austria's OMV OMVV.VI to create a chemicals giant with combined annual sales of more than $20 billion.
And in December, it agreed to buy European chemical producer OCI's stake in ammonia and urea producer Fertiglobe for $3.6 billion. Reuters reported in April that it had for a while considered buying Britain's BP BP.L.
($1 = 0.9327 euros)
Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Emma-Victoria Farr, Patricia Weiss, Yousef Saba and Ron Bousso; Editing by Friederike Heine, Mark Potter and Alexander Smith
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
