Increased shareholding stake in Swiss chemical giant Clariant may be acquired by SABIC

, petrochemical giant SABIC said in a filing with Saudi Arabia's Taduwul stock exchange that it had increased its stake in Clariant, a Swiss specialty chemicals producer, from 24.99 per cent to 31.5 per centThe Saudi group is already Clariant's largest shareholderrecent days, Saudi Arabia's petrochemical giant SABIC said it had increased its stake in Clariant to 31.5 per cent, close to the level that triggered a compulsory takeover offerSABIC said the purchase of shares was part of its strategy to achieve leadership in the chemical industryClariant's shares rose 4.5 percent in afternoon trading Tuesday afternoon after the stake was raisedSABIC shares rose 5.25 percentUnder Swiss securities law, a compulsory offer is triggered if an investor increases his stake in a listed company to more than one-thirdSABIC is currently in the process of being acquired by Saudi Aramco, the Saudi oil and gas giantIn December, Saudi Aramco disclosed a small stake in its initial public offeringOn March 1st the company said it had received approval from the European Commission for the acquisitionAnalysts atBader Bank said SABIC's increased stake in Clariant made it one of the most likely targets for the European chemical industry to be acquiredDespite previous plans to merge Clariant's pigment and color masterbatches division with SABIC's special operations, Mr Bader described it as a "wedding gift" for Clariant at the timehowever, the Swiss producer later announced plans to sell its motherstock division to Plumvan in December 2019The company has also sold its healthcare business to Arsenal Capital and plans to divest more assets, according to Clariant Management, which will focus on its core business sectors such as chemicals, catalysts and natural resource products in the futureAccording to Bader, these divestments could bring a higher-than-expected price-to-earnings ratio for Clariant, and the restructuring should provide a powerful catalyst for the company and move its profit margins towards its medium-term targetBut the market has been sceptical about its medium-term goals "Clariant remains one of the most likely targets for acquisitions in the EU chemicals sector," Bader said in an investor note "
personnel changes
Clariant is still looking for a new chief executive since ernest Ochiello abruptly resigned last July Chairman and acting chief executive Hariolf Kottmann, who returned to the company after a brief stint at Ochiello, told reporters last month that the company's focus was on finding the right person "as soon as possible, not the sooner." He also said the company would take no further action until the new chief executive took over Clariant will soon have a new chief financial officer Patrick Jany, who has held the position since 2006, will leave in early May to join shipping and logistics giant Maersk as finance director Stephan Lyn, who is currently in charge of Clariant's additives business, will take over on April 1