Updated: Apollo Global Management and ADNOC International Ltd. have made an offer to buy Novonor's controlling share in materials maker Braskem SA.
But in a May 16 letter to the SEC and to Brazilian stock authorities, Braskem officials only said that the firm had received the Apollo Adnoc offer and "is evaluating other possibilities."
They added that Braskem has informed Apollo and Adnoc of this decision.
The firm had received confirmation of the offer from Novonor SA — its largest shareholder — on May 8.
The May 8 offer from New York investment firm Apollo and Abu Dhabi-based ADNOC is for 47 Brazilian reais ($9.49) per share. Based on valuations on May 10, Novonor's 38 percent stake in Braskem was worth about $1.6 billion. Braskem's per-share stock price has jumped since rumors of a purchase attempt first surfaced on May 5.
But in its May 16 notice, Braskem claimed controlling shareholders would receive only 27-30 Brazilian reais ($5.44 to $6.04) per share.
Braskem in total is valued at around $3.8 billion.
Word of the Apollo/Adnoc deal has sent Braskem's per-share stock price up from $7.59 on May 4 to $9.55 in late trading on May 23 — and increase of almost 26 percent.
Braskem officials said in the earlier filing that the nonbinding proposal depends on evaluation and negotiation with Petrobras, another major shareholder. They added that the firm "does not conduct any negotiations of its shareholders Novonor and Petrobras on the sale of its shareholdings."
Novonor — an industrial conglomerate previously known as Odebrecht and also based in Brazil — and Brazilian state-owned oil firm Petrobras first stated intentions to sell their stakes in Braskem in late 2021 and early 2022. Together, they own almost 75 percent Braskem.
Odebrecht was named in a massive corruption scandal in 2015. The firm later declared bankruptcy and also discussed selling its stake in Braskem in early 2021 in order to pay creditors.
Braskem, which has a U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, is Brazil's largest petrochemicals firm and as one of North America's largest producers of polypropylene resin. The firm also is a major supplier of bioplastics.
Braskem employs 8,000 and posted sales of almost $19 billion in 2022.