BASF Near Agreeing Takeover of Cognis

BASF has in principle agreed with the private equity owners of Cognis on a takeover of the German maker of additives, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

BASF, the world's largest chemicals maker, and Cognis's owners Permira and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners have come to terms on the price and on the main conditions of the deal, Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) said, citing people familiar with the talks. An official announcement should, however, not be expected before mid-June, because BASF plans to carry out final checks as part of a "confirmatory due diligence", the paper added.

FTD said it could not ascertain the agreed acquisition price for the maker of chemicals for cosmetics and detergents.

Cognis's CFO Marco Panichi, citing prevailing core earnings multiples in the industry, indicated last month that a fair value for Cognis could be about €3.4 billion, according to Reuters calculations. Cognis's private equity owners relaunched their campaign to sell the company outright even as it prepared to go public.

One person familiar with the matter said this month that offers had been more than €3 billion but less than €3.5 billion, including assumed debt. Sources told Reuters earlier this year that U.S. specialty chemicals maker Lubrizol and at least one other company had also been interested in Cognis but sources have recently said BASF had become a clear frontrunner in the auction.