Jones Lang LaSalle


BASF Boosts Bid for Engelhard

BERLIN (AP) -- German chemical maker BASF AG announced Monday it has raised its hostile takeover bid for U.S.-based Engelhard Corp. by 2.6 percent to nearly $5.07 billion and said it was its final offer.

BASF, which first bid $37 a share for Engelhard in January in an effort to create a global leader in products such as pigments and catalysts, said it was raising its offer to $39 from its most recent offer of $38 a share.

Engelhard makes catalytic converters for cars and specialty chemicals and is based in Woodbridge, N.J.

"We are confident that Engelhard's shareholders will recognize the superior value for all of their shares and the complete certainty that BASF is offering," BASF Chief Executive Juergen Hambrecht said.

Hambrecht said BASF would abandon the takeover and "explore other opportunities" if Engelhard's shareholders fail to elect its nominees at the U.S. company's annual meeting on June 2.

"We want to make it very clear: This is our last, best and final offer. Under no circumstances will we raise our price again," he said.

Ludwigshafen-based BASF's offer expires June 5.

Engelhard's managers rejected earlier offers as too low. The company unveiled a plan to raise shareholder returns on its own, including buying back up to 20 percent of its stock at $45 a share.

Englehard's shares closed Friday at $38.46 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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