LyondellBasell Industries NV has approached Brazil’s Braskem SA for a potential takeover, valuing the petrochemicals company at more than $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee of a deal, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
A deal would help LyondellBasell expand in Latin America, where Braskem is the biggest petrochemicals company.
The news comes amid a wave of big mergers in the chemicals sector. Dow Chemical and DuPont completed their $130 billion merger last month to form DowDuPont, while ChemChina bought Swiss seeds group Syngenta for $43 billion earlier this year.
LyondellBasell and Braskem did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
LyondellBasell’s shares rose 6 percent to $105.03 while Braskem’s U.S.-listed shares climbed 14 percent to $33.42 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
By Ahmed Farhatha
Source: Reuters
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