Now is not the time for major M&A – LANXESS CEO

17 September 2008 12:56  [Source: ICIS news]

COLOGNE (ICIS news)--LANXESS CEO Axel Heitmann on Wednesday said it was the wrong time for large-scale acquisitions in the chemicals industry given the scale of uncertainty in the global economy.

"It is this time, when we have seen all this turmoil in the markets, it is not the time to make a large transformational deal. Not for LANXESS, and I believe not for any other company," Heitmann said.

This week’s Wall Street crisis, in which Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Bank of America acquired the debt-ridden Merrill Lynch, was just the latest indicator of dramatic flaws in the world’s credit markets.

"Crisis in the financial markets, declining economic performance, falling consumer confidence - these indeed are dark clouds in the economic skies," LANXESS said.

The engineering plastics group had said earlier it was pursuing investments in research and development (R&D) facilities as well as strategic acquisitions.

"LANXESS is not planning a transformational deal in the foreseeable future, we focus on small and mid-sized opportunities around the globe," he added.

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By: Mark Watts
+44 20 8652 3214

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