Adnoc’s global energy investment arm XRG has secured a 95.1 per cent stake in German chemicals company Covestro, in what is the UAE state energy company’s biggest-ever acquisition.
Adnoc International Germany Holding, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of XRG, holds a 83.43 per cent stake in Covestro, while XRG has a 11.68 per cent stake, the German company said in a regulatory filing to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Adnoc had submitted a €14.7 billion ($17 billion) takeover proposal for Covestro in October last year. XRG, formed in November 2024, said a month later that it would become the majority shareholder of Covestro, after the German chemicals company’s shareholders accepted a takeover offer.
The proposal underwent scrutiny from the European Commission under its rules on foreign subsidies, and in September this year, regulators sought to obtain additional information from Adnoc. A month later, XRG submitted new proposals to address the commission’s concerns.
On December 10, XRG said that it had completed its voluntary public takeover offer to the shareholders of Covestro. As part of the transaction, XRG completed a capital increase of €1.17 billion to boost Covestro’s balance sheet under the new ownership structure.
The acquisition “strengthens XRG’s international footprint in chemicals and supports our ambition to become a top three global investor in the sector”, Rainer Seele, president of global chemicals at XRG, said in a statement to The National.
Both companies will work “to realise [Covestro’s] full potential”, he said.
XRG was launched as an international lower-carbon energy and chemicals investment company, with an enterprise value exceeding $80 billion.
Adnoc unveils $150bn expansion drive as UAE boosts oil and gas reserves
The latest deal will enable XRG to tap into Covestro’s portfolio, comprised of more than 10,000 specialty solutions, 46 production sites and 13 research and development centres.
Covestro’s operations supports sectors such as mobility, construction, electronics, and healthcare, which are key to the global economy and energy transition. The company’s products support production of electric vehicles, wind-turbine blades, semiconductors, smartphones and eyeglass lenses.
XRG has been actively increasing its operations globally and plans to double its asset value over the next decade, capitalising on the energy transition, artificial intelligence and the rise of emerging economies.
In November, XRG signed an initial agreement with Argentina’s YPF and Italy’s Eni to develop an integrated liquefied natural gas project in the South American nation. It also agreed to a non-binding agreement to acquire a stake in Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor to support its regional strategy in the Caspian.
In September, XRG closed the acquisition of an 11.7 per cent stake in the first phase of the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, which was XRG’s first natural gas investment in the US.
The same month, a consortium led by XRG also withdrew its offer to buy Santos, Australia’s second-largest gas producer. The consortium, which included Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ and global investment firm Carlyle, had made a $19 billion indicative offer to buy Santos in June.
Adnoc also said in September that it was transferring its equity stakes in its listed companies to XRG. The companies included in the transfer are Adnoc Distribution, Adnoc Drilling, Adnoc Gas and Adnoc Logistics and Services, all listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Adnoc also confirmed that its entire stake in Fertiglobe is now held through XRG.
In July, Adnoc said it planned to transfer its 24.9 per cent stake in Austrian energy company OMV to XRG. Adnoc and OMV agreed on terms in March to merge their polyolefins business and create a $60 billion global company.
They said the joint venture company, Borouge Group International, would combine Adnoc’s Borouge with OMV’s Borealis unit. Once complete, Adnoc’s entire stake in BGI will be transferred to and held by XRG, the company said.
Who’s who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish ‘rebels’: Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Sole survivors
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- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
if you go
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Some of Darwish’s last words
“They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope.” – Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
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