Abu Dhabi National Oil (Adnoc) announces plan to acquire BASF subsidiary Wintershall DEA. This oil and gas company could be valued at over ten billion euros, according to insiders. News agency Bloomberg reported on this potential purchase on Thursday, citing well-informed sources. A month ago, BASF's CFO, Dirk Elvermann, emphasized that the company intends to sell its 72.7% stake in Wintershall DEA.

The sale is part of the Wintershall DEA strategy to separate its businesses with Russia by mid-2024. The non-Russian part is supposed to be converted into money by BASF. The remaining part of the company belongs to the investment company Letterone. Last year, BASF reported a loss of 627 million euros due to billions in write-downs on its subsidiary Wintershall DEA. In January, Wintershall DEA finally announced the end of its business in Russia, which previously accounted for half of the company's total production. The Russian part of the subsidiary had already been fully written off, as confirmed by Elvermann. However, the company could recover part of the money through state investment guarantees, which amount to the lower billion range.

However, these claims are not shown as receivables in BASF's balance sheet. According to the news agency, the British oil company Harbour Energy is also interested in acquiring Wintershall DEA, alongside Adnoc. However, neither Adnoc nor Harbour Energy have officially stated their position on this, the report further states. Both BASF and Wintershall DEA were initially not available for comment. Adnoc has been trying to acquire the German chemical company Covestro for some time now.

In summer, it was speculated that Adnoc had informally offered €60 per share, which corresponds to a valuation of €11.6 billion for Covestro. Only in September did the company announce that it was in talks with Adnoc, causing the stock price to rise to around €54. Previously, in June, the stock was still below €40. Since the announcement in September, however, there have been hardly any news about the takeover talks and the excitement has diminished somewhat. On Thursday, the stock closed at €47.65. However, it has already gained 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

Adnoc is also in talks with Austrian oil and gas company OMV about merging the chemical companies Borealis and Borouge. According to Bloomberg, this merger could create a chemical and plastics company with a market value of over $30 billion (€27.5 billion). Borealis, based in Vienna, is 75 percent owned by OMV, with the remaining ownership held by Adnoc. Borouge, also listed, is a joint venture between Adnoc and Borealis with a market value of $22 billion.

The news about possible buyers of Wintershall DEA has given new impetus to the recently sluggish recovery of BASF shares on Friday. According to Bloomberg, both Adnoc and Harbour Energy are interested in the oil and gas division of the Ludwigshafen-based company. Due to these prospects, the stock surpassed the 90-day moving average line, which indicates the medium-term trend, already in the morning on the last trading day of the week. Currently, this line is slightly above 44.40 euros. The stock recently rose by 1.57 percent to 44.50 euros, making it one of the winners in the DAX 40, which increased moderately. Covestro also benefited from the rumors, rising by 1.55 percent to 48.39 euros.

Adnoc has shown interest in the German chemical and plastics company Covestro for some time now. In September, Covestro confirmed talks, but there has been little communication since then. Analyst Chetan Udeshi from US bank JPMorgan estimates that the sale of Wintershall DEA BASF could bring an upside potential of around 6 percent of the current market value. He assumes an enterprise value of 10 billion euros for Wintershall DEA. However, the Bloomberg report even mentioned a possible value above 10 billion euros. BASF holds just under 73 percent of the company. A trader commented on the speculations: "The rumor mill about an interest in Wintershall DEA is boiling," especially because the sale is expected to be completed next year.

2024 could therefore be a year of profit maximization for BASF. The price for Wintershall DEA could even exceed the book value.

Market expert Andreas Lipkow pointed out with regard to the automotive company Mercedes-Benz (formerly Daimler) that Arab investors have already proven "an excellent sense for strategic investments in German companies" several times over the past decades. The Kuwait sovereign wealth fund currently holds just under six percent of the Stuttgart-based vehicle manufacturer. "The potential acquisition of Wintershall DEA is a similar situation and could be a win-win deal for both parties," said Lipkow. Due to its new corporate strategy, it is difficult for BASF to utilize Wintershall DEA, which is why they have been wanting to divest from the company for several years. On the other hand, Adnoc would have the opportunity to deepen the value chain through the acquisition.