The Dax group has apparently aroused the interest of the oil giant Adnoc from Abu Dhabi.
(Photo: REUTERS)
Dusseldorf, Frankfurt The Arab oil group Adnoc has expressed interest in buying the German plastics manufacturer Covestro. The company had spoken to the management of the Dax group about a possible takeover, three people familiar with the matter told the Handelsblatt on Tuesday.
Covestro declined to comment on this. In the circles it is said that it was an initial contact. Whether there will be a takeover bid remains to be seen. Adnoc is currently exploring its options for expansion in the chemical business and looking at several options for acquisitions. The news agencies Bloomberg and Reuters first reported on the talks.
Adnoc is a state-owned oil company from the United Arab Emirates based in Abu Dhabi. The company has been expanding in the chemicals business for a long time and intends to use its oil reserves for lucrative further development.
Covestro share rises sharply
Covestro shares shot up at times by more than 16 percent to just under 47 euros on Tuesday afternoon. According to an insider, a price of around EUR 55 per share is conceivable for Adnoc.
Covestro currently has a market value of 8.5 billion euros. A takeover would be financially easy for Adnoc to handle. The Arabs want to provide more than $100 billion in funding over the next few years to expand the business.
Whether the push to take over Covestro will be successful remains to be seen. The group has repeatedly attracted the interest of oil companies and private equity funds in the past. But the talks fizzled out. Covestro had repeatedly stated that it wanted to remain independent.
Covestro relies on “clean” technologies
A plan to buy Covestro would be a strategic fit. The Leverkusen group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of soft and hard foams used in furniture, car seats and facade insulation. Covestro also produces the transparent plastic polycarbonate. Both are based on the raw material oil.
In the medium term, however, Covestro wants to switch to alternative raw materials and use chemical recycling. The know-how of the Leverkusen company would be interesting for Adnoc, since the group also wants to invest in “clean” technologies.
Adnoc is already present in the European plastics business: The Arabs own a quarter of the shares in the Austrian plastics manufacturer Borealis and operate a petrochemical joint venture with the company in Abu Dhabi called Borouge.
The oil company is making inroads into the chemical industry.
(Photo: IMAGO/NurPhoto)
Adnoc also determines the fortunes of Borealis because the Arabs have a stake in the company’s majority owner: the Austrian oil company OMV. The group from Abu Dhabi has owned 24.9 percent of the shares there since the beginning of this year, making it the second largest shareholder after the Austrian state holding company ÖBAG.
Strategically, the Arabs could plan to merge Borealis and Borouge and then expand the company to include other plastics businesses, such as those of Covestro.
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