Adnoc secured conditional approval from the European Commission for its planned EUR 14.7 bn acquisition of Germany’s Covestro, according to a statement (pdf) by the regulator, clearing a major hurdle to what would be the largest Gulf-led buyout of a European-listed company. The green light is dependent on both Adnoc and Covestro sticking to commitments they made. The news was also picked up by Reuters.

BACKGROUND- The sign-off, which came well ahead of the March 2026 deadline, follows months of scrutiny after Brussels opened an in-depth probe under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation in September, warning that state-backed support, including an unlimited state guarantee, a planned capital injection, and tax benefits, could distort market competition.

Not without a couple of tweaks: The energy giant agreed to scrap the unlimited state backing by amending its articles of association and to license Covestro’s sustainability patents to European competitors for 10 years. EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said the commitments “effectively address the [possible] negative effects” by keeping key technologies accessible for industry peers.

What’s next: The approval, also valid for a decade and monitored by an independent trustee, allows Adnoc to move ahead with final national-level clearances in Germany. Once completed, the transaction would bring Covestro under Adnoc’s XRG investment arm, broadening Abu Dhabi’s international footprint in chemicals and advanced materials. Covestro had guided for the transaction to close before 2 December.

IN CONTEXT- The move fits into a broader Gulf drive to deploy hydrocarbon wealth into global LNG and chemicals assets, Bloomberg wrote. Adnoc and Saudi Aramco have been locking in LNG supply contracts to build out their trading arms, while QatarEnergy is expanding stakes in export and receiving terminals worldwide. Gulf producers are betting that long-term demand for natural gas and industrial polymers will remain resilient as inputs for power, plastics, packaging, and lightweight materials used in electronics and autos.

IN OTHER M&A NEWS-

The 2PointZero-Ghitha-Multiply merger is nearly across the finish line: Multiply completed the takeover of shares in Ghitha Holding and all of 2PointZero, according to three separate bourse disclosures here (pdf), here (pdf), and here (pdf), folding a cluster of IHC-linked assets under its umbrella. The group is now finalizing a capital increase to issue new shares to the sellers, and the transaction will be fully reflected in the market once the consolidated entity is listed and the new ownership structure is disclosed. This comes a little under a week after parent firm International Holding Company’s (IHC) shareholders signed off on the merger.

Transaction mechanism: The plan saw Multiply acquire 83.52% of Ghitha from IHC Food Holding, 0.41% from IHC Companies Management (good for roughly 202.8 mn shares in total), and IHC Capital’s stake in 2PointZero through a share-swap. Multiply’s shareholders had already signed off on the move, which involves lifting the company’s share capital to AED 8.6 bn from AED 2.8 bn and issuing 23.36 bn new shares to complete the transfers.

The combined entity is set to operate under the 2PointZero Group name, with Multiply CEO Samia Bouazza slated to lead the enlarged platform and Ghitha remaining under its current management. The transaction will push the group’s freefloat to 39%, potentially widening index eligibility on the ADX.

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