據(jù)彭博新聞社2023年7月20日?qǐng)?bào)道，知情人士說(shuō)，尋求通過(guò)一系列雄心勃勃的交易擴(kuò)大化工業(yè)務(wù)的阿聯(lián)酋能源巨頭阿布扎比國(guó)家石油公司(Adnoc)已將其對(duì)德國(guó)化學(xué)工業(yè)公司科思創(chuàng)公司(Covestro AG)的收購(gòu)報(bào)價(jià)提高至大約110億歐元(124億美元)。

知情人士表示，Adnoc將報(bào)價(jià)提高至每股約57歐元，希望能說(shuō)服這家德國(guó)化學(xué)工業(yè)公司加入談判。這比它第一次非正式出價(jià)每股55歐元要高2歐元。這家有政府背景的公司對(duì)科思創(chuàng)公司的戰(zhàn)略和管理表示了信心。由于信息保密，這些知情人士要求匿名采訪。

科思創(chuàng)公司股價(jià)7月19日在法蘭克福下跌2.9%，市值為94億歐元。在彭博新聞報(bào)道Adnoc提高報(bào)價(jià)后，科思創(chuàng)公司股價(jià)在周二尾盤交易中飆升，報(bào)收于去年2月以來(lái)的最高水平。

知情人士當(dāng)時(shí)表示，6月份，總部位于勒沃庫(kù)森的科思創(chuàng)公司拒絕了Adnoc早些時(shí)候的報(bào)價(jià)，理由是報(bào)價(jià)過(guò)低。科思創(chuàng)公司還對(duì)Adnoc的專業(yè)業(yè)務(wù)計(jì)劃提出了質(zhì)疑。

Adnoc首席執(zhí)行官一直在忙于尋求有利交易，以更好地與沙特阿美及沙比克競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。這家阿布扎比公司正在與奧地利的OMV AG進(jìn)行單獨(dú)談判，討論將他們支持的兩家公司博祿公司和北歐化工公司合并，組建一家價(jià)值超過(guò)300億美元的化工和塑料巨頭。

這些擬議中的交易與阿聯(lián)酋吸引投資和技術(shù)以及建立新產(chǎn)業(yè)和制造能力的更廣泛計(jì)劃相吻合。Adnoc一直在擴(kuò)建阿布扎比的煉油和化工中心，為其石油和天然氣生產(chǎn)尋找更多的銷售渠道，并生產(chǎn)用于消費(fèi)品的塑料。

上述知情人士稱，Adnoc已試圖解決科思創(chuàng)公司對(duì)其收購(gòu)要約的擔(dān)憂，包括收購(gòu)要約將如何幫助這家德國(guó)化工公司的管理層發(fā)展特種化學(xué)品業(yè)務(wù)。如果談判開始，Adnoc的出價(jià)可能有進(jìn)一步提高的空間。

路易斯資本市場(chǎng)分析師本·凱利表示，Adnoc可能需要進(jìn)一步提高報(bào)價(jià)，才能贏得科思創(chuàng)公司的青睞。

凱利說(shuō)：“科思創(chuàng)公司知道Adnoc有能力支付，所以我認(rèn)為他們會(huì)有耐心。”“每股61.5歐元的最新報(bào)價(jià)相當(dāng)于8倍的EV/Ebitda（企業(yè)價(jià)值倍數(shù)：一種被廣泛使用的公司估值指標(biāo)，其倍數(shù)相對(duì)于行業(yè)平均水平或歷史水平較高通常說(shuō)明高估，較低說(shuō)明低估，不同行業(yè)或板塊有不同的估值倍數(shù)水平。）在我們看來(lái)，科思創(chuàng)公司董事會(huì)更有可能接受這一報(bào)價(jià)。”  

目前還不清楚科思創(chuàng)公司將如何回應(yīng)Adnoc的這一最新出價(jià)。Adnoc和科思創(chuàng)公司的代表拒絕置評(píng)。

幾乎包攬阿聯(lián)酋所有石油生產(chǎn)的Adnoc計(jì)劃投資1500億美元擴(kuò)大原油、天然氣和化學(xué)品的生產(chǎn)能力。此外，Adnoc還在投資低碳能源。

李峻 譯自 彭博新聞社

原文如下：

Adnoc Raises Covestro Purchase Bid to $12.4B

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the energy giant seeking to expand its chemical operations through a series of ambitious deals, has boosted its takeover offer for Covestro AG to about EUR 11 billion ($12.4 billion), people familiar with the matter said. 

Adnoc increased its proposal to about EUR 57 per share in the hopes of convincing the German company to enter talks, the people said. That’s up from its first informal bid of around EUR 55. 

The state-backed firm voiced confidence in Covestro’s strategy and management, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. 

Covestro shares fell 2.9 percent in Frankfurt trading Wednesday, giving the company a market value of EUR 9.4 billion. The stock had jumped in late trading on Tuesday, following the Bloomberg News report on Adnoc increasing its offer, to close at its highest level since February 2022. 

Last month, Leverkusen-based Covestro rejected Adnoc’s earlier proposal as too low, people familiar with the matter said at the time. Covestro also raised questions around Adnoc’s plans for its specialties operations.

Adnoc Chief Executive Officer Sultan Al Jaber has been busy hunting for deals to better compete with Saudi Aramco and its Sabic chemical unit. The Abu Dhabi firm is in separate talks with Austria’s OMV AG about a potential merger of two companies they back, Borouge Plc and Borealis AG, to form a chemicals and plastics giant worth more than $30 billion. 

The mooted transactions dovetail with a wider plan by the United Arab Emirates to attract investment and technology as well as build new industries and manufacturing capabilities. Adnoc has been expanding a refining and chemicals hub in Abu Dhabi to find additional outlets for its oil and natural gas production and make the plastics that go into consumer goods.

Adnoc has tried to address Covestro’s concerns about its offer, including over how it would help the German company’s management develop the specialty chemical operations, according the people. If negotiations are entered, there could be scope for further increases in Adnoc’s bid. 

Ben Kelly, an analyst at Louis Capital Markets, said Adnoc may need to go higher still to win over Covestro.

“Covestro knows Adnoc can afford to pay up so I think they’ll be patient,” Kelly said. “An improved offer of EUR 61.5 would equate to 8x EV/Ebitda and in our opinion would be more likely to be accepted by the Covestro board.”

Deliberations are ongoing, and it’s unclear how Covestro will respond to the latest proposal. Representatives for Adnoc and Covestro declined to comment. 

Adnoc, which produces almost all the oil in the United Arab Emirates, plans to invest $150 billion to expand production capacity for crude, natural gas and chemicals. It’s also investing in low-carbon energy.