Clariant and its main shareholder Saudi Basic Industries Corp are to end a so-called "governance agreement" defining their relationship, stirring speculation SABIC could launch a full takeover bid for the Swiss chemicals firm, said Reuters.
Speculation was prompted by Clariant's announcement that an agreement between it and SABIC will expire on 24 June. This means that Clariant could be vulnerable to a takeover, as petchems major SABIC can now exceed its 33.3% share in the company and would be able to nominate more than four supervisory board members.
The stock price gained 7.81% on the Swiss stock exchange over the course of the morning, although in the wake of an accounting investigation, remains 1.89% below the level of a year prior.
The governance agreement between the two firms will expire at Clariant’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 24 June, after being established in September 2018.
In response to the news, the Swiss firm acknowledged that SABIC could increase or decrease its stake in the company as any other shareholder, and that the bolster to Clariant’s share price reflected speculation in the market.
As per MRC, Clariant, a focused, sustainable, and innovative specialty chemical company, today announced that the investigation of accounting issues related to provisions and accruals (as disclosed by Clariant on 14 February 2022) conducted by independent advisors and external counsel (Deloitte and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher), has been concluded.
We remind that in October 2020, Clariant announced the construction of a new state-of-the-art catalyst production site in China. This project represents a significant investment which further strengthens Clariant’s position in China and enhances its ability to support its customers in the country’s thriving petrochemicals industry.
Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
mrchub.com