Swiss chemical giant Clariant may be acquired by SABIC

SABIC, the petrochemical giant, recently said in a document submitted to Saudi Arabia's taduwul stock exchange that it had increased its stake in Clariant, the Swiss producer of specialty chemicals, from 24.99% to 31.5% The Saudi group is already Clariant's largest shareholder Recently, SABIC, a petrochemical giant in Saudi Arabia, said it had increased its stake in Clariant to 31.5%, close to the level that triggered a forced takeover offer SABIC said buying shares was part of its strategy to achieve leadership in the chemical industry Clariant's shares rose 4.5% in Tuesday afternoon trading after the increase SABIC shares rose 5.25% According to Swiss securities law, if investors increase their shares in a listed company to more than one-third, it will trigger a mandatory tender offer SABIC is currently in the stage of being acquired by Saudi Aramco, the national oil and gas giant In December, Saudi Aramco opened a small stake in its initial IPO On March 1, the company said it had been approved by the European Commission for the acquisition Analysts at Bader bank said SABIC increased its stake in Clariant, making it one of the most likely targets for the European chemical industry Although previous plans to merge Clariant's pigment and masterbatch division with SABIC's specialty business failed, Bader described it as a "wedding gift" to Clariant However, the Swiss producer later announced plans to sell the masterbatch division to PolyOne in December 2019 According to Clariant management, the company has also sold its healthcare business to Arsenal capital and plans more divestitures In the future, Clariant will focus on its core businesses such as care chemicals, catalysts and natural resources products According to Bader, these divestments may bring Klein a higher than expected P / E ratio, and the restructuring should give the company a strong catalyst and move its profit margin towards its medium-term goal But the market has been sceptical of medium-term targets "Clariant remains one of the most likely targets in the EU chemicals sector," Bader said in an investor report Since the sudden resignation of Ernest ochiello in July last year, Clariant is still looking for a new CEO Chairman and acting CEO hariolf kottmann returned to ochiello after a brief stint, telling reporters last month that the company's focus was to find the right people "as soon as possible, not as soon as possible." He added that the company will not take further action until the new CEO takes office Clariant will soon have a new CFO, too Patrick Jany has held the position since 2006 and will leave in early May to join Maersk, the shipping and logistics giant, as chief financial officer Stephan Lyn, who is currently in charge of Clariant's additives business, will take over on April 1.