Adnoc’s XRG confident of timely regulatory clearance for $17bn Covestro deal

The Abu Dhabi company has submitted new proposals to address European Commission’s concerns

Germany based Covestro is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials. Reuters

Adnoc’s global energy investment arm, XRG, expects “timely clearance” for its €14.7 billion ($17 billion) takeover of German chemicals company Covestro after it submitted new proposals to address European Commission concerns over the deal.

“Following thorough engagement with the European Commission, we have submitted a robust and proportionate package of proposed commitments,” XRG told The National on Thursday.

“They represent our disciplined approach as a long-term investor and underscore the strength of this transaction, and we are confident this will lead to timely clearance.”

The acquisition deal, first announced in October 2024, is expected to close in the second half of 2025 subject to regulatory approval.

The European Commission said in July that it had opened an in-depth investigation to assess the deal over concerns the companies could receive “foreign subsidies distorting the EU internal market”.

The regulator, which has received the proposal from XRG, has not set a new deadline for a decision after it requested further details, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The proposed package of commitments includes a pledge to maintain Covestro’s intellectual property in Europe, the news agency cited people familiar with the matter as saying.

Covestro is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components.

XRG was launched last year as an international lower-carbon energy and chemicals investment company, with an enterprise value exceeding $80 billion.

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Its chemicals platform aims to become a top-five global player, producing and delivering chemical and speciality products to meet a projected 70 per cent increase in global demand by 2050, Adnoc said last year.

The company has been actively scaling up its operations globally and plans to double its asset value over the next decade, capitalising on the energy transition, artificial intelligence and the rise of emerging economies.

Last month, the company closed the acquisition of an 11.7 per cent stake in phase one (trains one to three) of Texas’s Rio Grande LNG project, marking its first natural gas investment in the US. It also has a 35 per cent stake in an ExxonMobil hydrogen plant in Baytown near Houston.

XRG has also closed several international deals this year including Arcius Energy, its joint venture with BP for upstream gas in Egypt, its stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field in Azerbaijan, and its participation in Offshore Block 1 in Turkmenistan.

The company also bought a 10 per cent stake in the Area 4 concession in Mozambique's Rovuma Basin liquefied natural gas project to boost its global portfolio last year.

Last month, XRG’s board held a meeting in New York and reviewed the company’s five-year business plan and expansion plans in the US.