White Tale sells Clariant shares to Saudi corporation
The Saudi Arabia-based company Sabic bought nearly 25 % of Clariant and is now its largest shareholder. Sabic received the shares from White Tale, an entity that invested heavily in Clariant in 2017 to stop a merger between the Swiss company and US competitor Huntsman.
Clariant just acknowledges the investment by Sabic, a chemical industry company from Saudi Arabia, which has acquired a 24.99% stake in Clariant. The acquisition of these shares, which were previously held by White Tale, makes Sabic the largest shareholder of Clariant. White Tale is an entity that acquired the shares in 2017 in multiple steps to stop a merger of Clariant from Switzerland and its US-based competitor Huntsman – an action in the name of US-based investors 40 North and Corvex.
The stock price of Clariant dropped immediately after the announcement. However, White Tale probably made a significant profit. The shares of Clariant rose significantly during the last year. As is customary in the industry, Clariant was informed of Sabics intention to acquire the shares prior to the transaction. Sabic is one of the major global chemical companies, with a significant specialty chemicals business. It is also already a partner of Clariant in the Catalyst joint venture Scientific Design.
Clariant stated that it intends to engage with Sabic over the coming weeks in order to discuss the new situation and explore possible ways to create value. The company will also continue the existing dialogue with all its other shareholders.
Lately, there have been rumors that Clariant may be a candidate for a split-up. This could still be the case. Sabic may only be interested in Clariants Catalyst division. Sabic itself is, at the moment, quite depended on its basic chemicals business. This investment can be seen as a big step to position itself more broadly.
