BASF in talks with potential buyers over disposal of fertiliser businesses

BASF, the world’s biggest chemical company, is in talks with potential buyers of its fertiliser units and has hired Morgan Stanley to handle the sale, according to sources.

The assets include a nitrogen site in Antwerp, Belgium, and a share of a venture in France.

Companies that already have fertiliser operations have expressed interest in the units, said the sources.

The German company, based in Ludwigshafen, said earlier this month that it would seek to sell the businesses, which generate about €500 million in combined sales.

BASF spokeswoman Jennifer Moore-Braun declined to comment on the planned sale, as did a Morgan Stanley spokesman in London.

Yara International, the world’s largest publicly traded nitrogen-fertiliser maker, may be interested in the operations at the right price, spokesman Asle Skredderberget said.