India’s private sector energy giant, Reliance Industries Ltd, has announced a cash bid to buy a controlling stake in bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell Industries.
“The offer is preliminary and subject to customary conditions including conduct of due diligence, documentation and receipt of sufficient creditor support,” Reliance said in a statement issued on Saturday.
Reliance did not say how much it had offered LyondellBasell, but the Times of India yesterday quoted an unidentified banker as saying the company would have to pay at least US$12 billion.
The amount was equal to the difference between LyondellBasell’s assets and liabilities, the Times report said.
If the deal went through, it would catapult Reliance into the big league of global petrochemical companies, the paper said.
The company, which is owned by industrialist Mukesh Ambani, said it was reviewing opportunities for growth.
“There can be no assurance of the outcome with respect to any of the opportunities under review, including with respect to LyondellBasell,” it said.
Luxembourg-based LyondellBasell filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in January, shielding it from its creditors and giving it time to restructure its businesses.
LyondellBasell confirmed on Saturday that Reliance Industries offered to acquire a controlling interest in the beleaguered chemical company.
LyondellBasell declined to disclose the value of the cash offer.
Reliance’s offer “represents a potential alternative to the initial plan of reorganization,” LyondellBasell said, and it “will continue to work with all parties to design an approach that maximizes value for the company’s creditors.”
The offer is nonbinding and is in addition to other nonbinding equity financing proposals LyondellBasell has received.
LyondellBasell is the world’s third-largest independent chemical company and is controlled by billionaire investor Len Blavatnik. Its products are used in gasoline, plastics, electronics, autos, paints and many other products.
LyondellBasell was formed last year, when Basell International Holdings paid US$12.7 billion for Houston-based Lyondell Chemical, taking on debt just as oil prices skyrocketed, squeezing profit margins at chemical makers.
As oil prices fell in the second half of last year, the recession undercut demand for chemical products, leading several affiliates and subsidiaries of Netherlands-based LyondellBasell to file for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS