Chemicals

DSM extracts vigorous returns from healthy planet

20 June 2018

The Dutch company which once mined coal now makes food supplements and fibres. New targets suggest sustainable businesses can deliver high single-digit EBITDA growth. Though investors’ expectations are already high, up to 3 bln euros for acquisitions promises a further boost.

DSM has ingredients for long-term health

12 April 2018

Shares in the Dutch vitamin and chemicals group hit a record high after it reported strong first-quarter sales. A fire at German rival BASF’s plant cut supply, prompting a spike in vitamin E prices. A healthy underlying business shows the valuation boost needn’t be temporary.

Bayer investors get unwelcome antitrust present

10 April 2018

The German company has struck a deal with U.S. regulators to clear its $60 billion acquisition of seed group Monsanto, the Wall Street Journal reported. After EU approval in March, a two-year saga is almost over. Bayer’s sagging stock price means shareholders can hold the cheers.

Carlyle’s $12.6 bln Akzo deal has good chemistry

27 March 2018

The U.S. private equity group is buying a speciality chemical unit that the Dutch company put on the block after a failed PPG bid. Carlyle knows the industry and has slashed costs at Axalta. While there may be less scope for huge cuts this time, decent returns are still on offer.

DowDuPont stock lacks activist chemistry

14 February 2018

The $166 bln industrial group is exceeding revenue estimates and planned merger cost cuts. Crunching two companies together and splitting into three should be worth more, according to activist Dan Loeb last year. He has gone quiet – and investors seem to have forgotten the story.

Bull market lets activists see virtue in passivity

26 January 2018

Bill Ackman, who lost his fight with ADP, has taken a stake in Nike but isn’t pushing for change. Dan Loeb sat back as Honeywell’s new boss ignored his advice and beat his targets anyway. Even pushy hedge funds can be tempted to simply ride the waves when a rally lifts all boats.

Activists beat bearable retreat in Clariant feud

25 January 2018

White Tale has surprisingly sold its stake in the Swiss chemical maker to SABIC. That may be a recognition its bid to shake up the group would fail. Exiting now may leave some money on the table, but the hedge fund consortium has probably made a decent return.

BASF’s odd oil deal may create a valuable compound

8 December 2017

The 87 bln euro German chemicals firm agreed to merge its oil unit with Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s DEA. It’s a complex transaction, with a messy structure. Yet pooling the business will create savings and may eventually help BASF shed its huge conglomerate discount.

BASF oil exit belatedly admits flaws of diversity

27 November 2017

The chemicals giant may merge its oil and gas unit with DEA, owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, before an IPO. Cost savings of 1 bln euros partly make up for low oil prices. A broader lesson is that when companies try to span different industries, shareholders suffer.

Clariant and activist lack a positive reaction

24 November 2017

The Swiss chemical maker will devise a new strategy after its merger with rival Huntsman flopped. It rejected demands from White Tale to explore a breakup. Clariant cannot ignore its 20 pct shareholder, but the activist that scuppered the deal needs to propose as well as oppose.

Akzo’s no-deal still worse than a good deal

22 November 2017

The Dutch paint maker is temporarily solo after talks with U.S. peer Axalta foundered. That combination, good on paper, was challenged by the two companies’ uneven size and likely job cuts. Even so, Akzo’s future if it’s determined to remain single is unappealing.

Nippon Paint’s run at Axalta looks off-colour

22 November 2017

The Japanese group has lobbed in a cash bid for its U.S. rival, Reuters reports, ending the target's merger talks with Akzo Nobel. A deal valued at some $12 bln including debt, even assuming hefty savings, would destroy value. Fulfilling global ambitions may be costly for Nippon.

Akzo Nobel-Axalta merger is a hostage to history

8 November 2017

A proposed blend of the two paint makers could produce colourful cost savings. That must mean job losses – and Akzo is the less efficient. Yet the $23 bln Dutch group deflected a bid from PPG saying cuts were a no-go. It’s hard to see how it could do the requisite U-turn now.

Axalta is a chip in DowDuPont’s paintwork

2 November 2017

Activist Nelson Peltz once pilloried chemicals giant DuPont for selling its coatings business to private equity. He was right. Axalta is now weighing a merger with Akzo Nobel. With a bit more love, it might have given investors in what’s now DowDuPont a 29 percent annual return.

Axalta deal complicates Akzo’s juggling act

30 October 2017

Fresh from deflecting a takeover, the Dutch group is considering a merger of its paints unit with its U.S. rival. A combination makes sense. But new CEO Thierry Vanlancker is already grappling with weak results and a chemicals spinoff. That raises the risk of dropped balls.

Clariant-Huntsman gives way to post-activism chill

27 October 2017

The scrapped $14 bln merger between two chemicals makers is not worth mourning; Clariant has other ways to create value. The near-term risk lies in activist duo White Tale, whose 20 pct stake killed the deal. Investors can’t tell whether they will be a catalyst or an inhibitor.

BASF plants fertile crop from Bayer’s blighted M&A

13 October 2017

The German chemicals group will pay 5.9 bln euros for a seeds business that Bayer must sell to clinch a takeover of Monsanto. A pledge to keep staff means few cost savings, but the deal should work in time. BASF shareholders will reap a better harvest by eschewing mega-mergers.

China’s oil giants brace for electric car crash

9 October 2017

Beijing's move against gasoline means tough times ahead for the country's oil majors. The rapid push into new energy vehicles will curb demand for imported hydrocarbons, but at the expense of state giants like Sinopec and PetroChina. It might also pressure crude prices.

DowDuPont gives blueprint for activist compromise

12 September 2017

It hasn't been pretty. But several activists, lots of money, plenty of fighting and years later, the merging Dow-DuPont reached a plan that shareholders, even both Dan Loeb and Nelson Peltz, now support. Somewhere in this chemical romance, there's a lesson for P&G and others.

Akzo investors get whiff of reality. It smells bad

8 September 2017

The Dutch paint maker promised much better earnings in its defence against an attractively priced takeover by U.S. rival PPG. A profit warning for 2017 shows Akzo will struggle to meet its fanciful targets. But it’s hard for new chief Thierry Vanlancker to wipe the slate clean.