Brazil's Braskem said Thursday that engineering and construction firm Odebrecht, its majority owner, denies receiving a proposal from LyondellBasell to buy its shares earlier this year.
Braskem said in a regulatory filing it approached Odebrecht in light of a report published Thursday in Brazil's Valor Economico newspaper saying LyondellBasell had valued Braskem at $11.5 billion as part of an offer for Odebrecht's majority shares in the petrochemical producer.
"In light of the news published in the Brazilian media regarding a purported proposal of LyondellBasell for the acquisition of Braskem's control, Braskem requested information from its controlling shareholder, Odebrecht S.A., who reported that no proposal was received for its shares in the company," the filing said.
Braskem added that Odebrecht "continues to work on alternatives to add value to Braskem and all of its shareholders, reaffirming its intention to maintain a presence in the petrochemical sector."
Odebrecht said in a statement that the company "denies having received a proposal regarding its participation in Braskem" and reiterated Braskem's statement about reaffirming its intention to maintain a presence in the sector. LyondellBasell spokesman David Rosen declined comment.
Braskem said in a similar filing last October after the Wall Street Journal reported LyondellBasell approached Braskem about a possible takeover, citing anonymous sources.
The newspaper reported at the time that the US petrochemical producer and refiner was in "very early talks" to acquire Braskem.
The next day Braskem said in a regulatory filing that the company was not approached with "any proposal for acquisition of its shares" and was unaware of anything that influenced movement of its shares between October 17 and October 30.
Braskem also said at that time that the company approached Odebrecht about the report, and the conglomerate said it was continuing work on "alternatives to add value to Braskem and for all shareholders, and reaffirmed its intention of keeping Braskem as part of the group investments."
Braskem has been on the market since 2016, with Petrobras looking to divest petrochemical, fertilizer, biofuel, refining and natural gas distribution assets to focus on offshore oil and gas production.
Odebrecht is Braskem's controlling shareholder with a 38.3% stake. The second largest stakeholder is Petrobras with 36.1%.
