Germany's Evonik Industries is examining a takeover bid for its Swiss rival Clariant, in a deal that would create a speciality chemicals company with a market value of more than €20bn, according to people familiar with the matter.
Evonik has been reviewing a number of options in recent months, these people said, as the Germany company has been looking to join the M&A wave among chemicals groups, reports Arash Massoudi, Neil Hume and Chris Bryant.
One of these people said that a bid for Clariant may value the Swiss company's shares at as much as SFr23, which would give it a market value of SFr7.3bn.
Shares in Clariant were down 2 per cent to SFr17.71 in mid-morning trading on Thursday. However, these people cautioned that no bid is finalised and any talks between the companies may fall apart. Evonik said it does not comment on any market rumours.
Evonik, which has a market value of €15bn, has previously said that it could look to fund any deals by issuing new equity if necessary as it seeks to tap growth in the specialty chemicals sector.
A deal would follow a string of takeovers in the chemical space over the last year, which include Eastman Chemical's acquisition of speciality chemical maker Taminco for $1.8bn. That followed Albemarle's $6.2bn takeover of lithium specialist Rockwood.