End to Univar takeover talks lifts Brenntag shares pre-market

Univar Solutions

03/01/2023 07:21

** Shares of Brenntag  BNRGn.DE  rise nearly 4% in early
Frankfurt trade after the German chemicals distributor
terminated preliminary takeover discussions with its U.S. rival
Univar Solutions  UNVR.N 
    ** "As one could have expected after activist investor acted
against possible acquisition," a local trader says, adding it
sees end to the M&A chatter as "slightly positive"
    ** The trader refers to Brenntag shareholder PrimeStone's
calls for end to Univar takeover talks
    ** PrimeStone was urging the company to instead buy back
shares and prepare for a break-up into two separate companies
    ** Brenntag stock, which has lost about 10% since late
November when the company said it was in preliminary discussions
with Univar, is now at the top of the German blue-chip index
 .GDAXI 
 (Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova)
 ((Anastasiia.Kozlova@thomsonreuters.com))