Germany: BASF inks €12b oil merger with Russian tycoon

Chemical giant BASF agreed to merge its oil and gas unit, Wintershall, with DEA to create one of the largest independent oil and gas firms in Europe., DEA is an oil and gas exploration company based in Germany owned by LetterOne, an investment vehicle of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.

The multi-billion-euro deal will create “one of the largest independent European exploration and production companies” with “significant growth potential” and scope for synergies, BASF said in a statement late on Thursday, December 7.

BASF said it would initially hold 67% of shares in the joint venture, which will go by the name Wintershall DEA.

The remaining shares will be held by the LetterOne group, Fridman’s Luxembourg-based investment group which owns DEA.There are plans for the new entity to be listed on the stock exchange “in the medium term”, BASF added. BASF and LetterOne signed a letter of intent to merge on Thursday and expect the deal to close in the second half of 2018, depending on regulatory approvals.

Full Content: Financial Times

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