LEVERKUSEN (dpa-AFX) - The supervisory board of plastics group Covestro plans to discuss the start of formal negotiations with prospective buyer Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) this week, according to a report. The news agency Bloomberg reported this on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the oil company had most recently offered 60 euros per Covestro share, which would give the DAX-listed group a valuation of 11.6 billion euros. Neither Adnoc nor Covestro would comment on the matter when asked by Bloomberg. Covestro is said to have rejected earlier informal offers of 55 euros and 57 euros per share as too low.

On the stock exchange, the news provided a boost: Covestro's shares shot up by almost ten percent in the afternoon. At last count, the share price was around 52.48 euros, the highest since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.

As Bloomberg further reports, Adnoc is beckoning with investments in the group. According to the report, the oil company could secure a cash injection of $8 billion (7.5 billion euros) if a deal goes through. That would help win over both management and representatives of the workforce.

Adnoc has been expanding its involvement around the chemicals business for some time. The group claims almost all the oil for the United Arab Emirates. It has investment plans of $150 billion to expand its natural gas, chemicals and clean energy businesses worldwide./jcf/nas