July 27, 2012

Lonza states no indication in takeover interest made

Swiss chemicals maker Lonza Group AG's Chief Financial Officer Toralf Haag said Wednesday (July 25) that the company has not received any indication that it is a takeover target, despite market speculation that German competitor BASF is planning to acquire Lonza.

Haag also said Lonza is not planning a capital increase in connection with the refinancing of the Arch integration, a rival they bought last year. Net debt in the first half of the year amounted to CHF2.53 billion (US$2.58 billion), while revenue rose 65% to CHF1.96 billion (US$2 billion), mainly due to Arch acquisition. Net profit was also up more than 16% to CHF125 million.

Lonza shares have been rising in recent days on market speculation that the company was a takeover target, and surged on the back of the half-year results Wednesday, trading 5.6% higher at CHF46.32 (US$47.33) and gaining as much as 8.3% on the day.