ChemChina offers Syngenta AG new bid at $44 billion

The Chinese company offered to purchase 70 percent now and 30 percent later in the proposed two-stage takeover.


From Bloomberg Business

China National Chemical Corp. improved its offer to buy Syngenta AG, proposing a complex two-stage takeover that would mark the biggest-ever acquisition by a Chinese company, people with knowledge of the matter said.

ChemChina, as the state-owned company is known, offered to purchase 70 percent of Syngenta now, with an option to acquire the remaining 30 percent of the company at a later date, according to sources who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Basel-based Syngenta, the world’s largest pesticide maker, will hold a board meeting before the end of the year to vote on the deal, the people said. While talks are advanced, no agreement has been reached and there’s no guarantee a deal will be completed.

The architecture of the proposal would allow ChemChina to work with Syngenta to integrate the two businesses before assuming complete control of the Swiss company, the sources said. During the discussions, ChemChina proposed a number of similarly structured deals, whereby it would acquire Syngenta in two stages. Syngenta’s American depositary receipts jumped as much as 8.1 percent in after-hours trading Friday.
 
ChemChina offered about 470 Swiss francs ($472) a share for 70 percent of Syngenta, one of the sources said. At that price, the company would have a market value of about $44 billion. ChemChina revised the proposal after its previous cash offer of 449 francs a share was deemed too low. Syngenta’s shares closed at 374.5 francs Friday.