FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The preliminary failure to sell the remaining shares in the joint venture Envalior has once again raised concerns among Lanxess shareholders on Friday regarding the specialty chemicals group's financing. The shares plunged by more than eight percent shortly after trading began, dropping to €15.02. Following the recent sector-wide slump triggered by the Iran war, this now marks the lowest price level since 2009.
Joint venture partner Advent does not wish to acquire the Envalior shares for the time being, citing the agreed financing condition. Now, purchase rights agreed for 2027 and 2028 apply.
According to analyst Chetan Udeshi from US bank JPMorgan, Lanxess' balance sheet concerns persist. These have long been the dominant topic in the stock's story. Christian Bell from UBS fears that Lanxess could lose its "investment grade" status with rating agencies. This is commonly referred to as "junk level." As a result, financing costs for the heavily indebted company could rise.
However, the Cologne-based group considers itself to be solidly financed in the long term even without the proceeds from the share sale; the repayment of the bond due in October is already secured, the company stated on Thursday evening. Lanxess had originally planned to raise €1.2 billion this year through the sale, as announced last September.
Udeshi concludes from Advent's decision that it is also related to a difficult environment for cyclical chemical companies. In his view, this is not yet fully reflected in other sector stocks such as BASF or Wacker Chemie./tih/mis
