EU antitrust regulators will decide on Adnoc’s EUR 14.7 bn takeover of German chemicals firm Covestro on 12 May, the European Commission said in a regulatory filing on its website. Approval from the commission can come with or without conditions — and the transaction could also see a further four-month investigation following the preliminary review. The acquisition of Covestro was expected to close in 2H 2025.

Refresher: Adnoc’s new low-carbon energy investment arm XRG is set to acquire a majority stake in German chemicals company Covestro — marking the largest takeover from a Middle Eastern buyer in Europe in 16 years — following the completion of its voluntary public takeover offer. Regulatory clearances from countries where Covestro operates have already started pouring in, with the acquisition receiving approval in December from the Competition Commission of India, where Covestro operates through its subsidiary Covestro India.

The European Commission has been the reason behind delays in Emirati takeovers in Europe before: The commission launched its first-ever anti-subsidy probe into a foreign buyer against e& for its acquisition of a controlling stake (50% +1 economic share) in PPF Telecom Group, but later concluded that market competition won’t be affected by this transaction. Still, the commission placed several conditions on e& for an extendable duration of 10 years, including a commitment not to funnel any state funding into PPF’s EU operations without EU review.

This story was updated with the correct value of the takeover.

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