BASF to prepare agricultural business for IPO, reports Bloomberg

Frankfurt | Reuters—BASF plans to prepare its agricultural chemicals business for an initial public offering in the next few years as part of restructuring measures set to be announced by the chemicals group this month, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

BASF’s new CEO, Markus Kamieth, will announce a series of overhaul measures at the capital markets day set for Sep. 26-27, including plans for the future of its coatings business, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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While the agricultural chemicals business is to be prepared for a listing, the German firm could also signal its willingness to sell parts of the coatings business or bring in a partner.

BASF declined to comment on the report.

“We will publish information on our strategy next week at our capital markets day,” a company spokesperson told Reuters.

BASF shares rose 3.6 per cent, the top gainer in the DAX, following the report.

According to Bloomberg, BASF could also announce plans for the further development of the battery materials business.

The proceeds from the sale of assets could be used to strengthen the balance sheet, according to the report.

In December last year, BASF announced plans to turn its agriculture, battery materials and coatings businesses into autonomous units in a bid to try to boost earnings.

However, previous CEO Martin Brudermueller said at the time that there was no intention to sell these businesses.

BASF’s Agricultural Solutions unit had about 10 billion euros (C$15.1 billion) in sales last year, competing with Bayer, Corteva and China’s Syngenta.

—Reporting for Reuters by Patricia Weiss