Bayer has now manifest its will to move forward. This is positive because now we know they can stick to their time frame.
If the final price comes in over $40 per share, we would consider this negative.
The pain threshold is around $40. They can't go a lot over $40 without the capital markets seeing that negatively. There is a point where a price would not justify the transaction.
I think Engelhard is opening up to a friendly transaction.
Strengthening their product range further down the value chain makes a lot of sense.
The results were in line. The chemicals cycle is humming right now. The high dividend is not surprising, seeing the growth in profit.
It's clearly BASF's strategic thinking not to give in and raise the price unless they get some information that justifies it.
All in all, the results are better than expected and convincing.
The company's salt acquisitions are paying off big time thanks to the winter weather.
This is a good amendment of Bayer's cardiology and hematology portfolio.
This is a good building block for Bayer.
This move comes as a surprise, but BASF so far has an excellent track record in acquisitions that were always adding value to investors.
All of the company's business segments have contributed strongly to the earnings improvement, which shows that the past years' efforts to improve efficiency have paid off.