November 24 (Reuters) – Chemical giant BASF advances on the stock market on Friday, following reports that Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC) is considering acquiring the energy division of the German group, Wintershall Dea.
BASF rose 1.6% at 11:40 GMT, while the German Dax index gained 0.12%.
Traders discussed the publication Thursday evening of a Bloomberg News article reporting ADNOC’s interest in Wintershall Dea.
An agreement could value the energy specialist at more than 10 billion euros, according to Bloomberg, which specifies that the British company Harbor Energy would also be interested in a takeover of Wintershall Dea.
BASF, which holds a 72.7% stake in Wintershall Dea, declined to comment, as did Wintershall, ADNOC and Harbor Energy.
In April, Martin Brudermueller, chairman of the board of BASF, said that the group was considering spinning off its energy activities, and that a listing was the preferred option. Last month, the executive explained that several options existed to sell the division.
Wintershall Dea is a joint venture between BASF and investment firm LetterOne, owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, which began spinning off its Russian operations following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
BASF, which said Wintershall Dea had been effectively expropriated from its Russian operations, announced last month that the legal separation of Wintershall Dea from its Russia-related operations would likely be completed by mid-2024.
BASF added that it is entitled to significant investment guarantees from the German state for its Russian assets.
For its part, ADNOC has said in the past that it is looking for takeover opportunities in the fields of renewable energies, gas, petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas, as the group wants to accelerate its global development.
The company purchased a stake in an Azerbaijani gas field and is bidding with BP for a stake in Israeli gas producer NewMed Energy.
ADNOC has also opened negotiations to buy German plastics maker Covestro and is seeking to create a $20 billion chemicals giant with Austria’s OMV. (Reporting Gursimran Kaur in Bangalore, Emma-Victoria Farr and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, French version Corentin Chappron, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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