EU Regulators Set to Pause Subsidy Probe into Abu Dhabi's Covestro Deal

EU antitrust regulators are set to pause their investigation into Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC's 14.7-billion-euro bid for German chemicals company Covestro, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The temporary halt will give the European Commission more time to gather information on the deal, the person said. The EU executive, which acts as the antitrust enforcer for the 27-country bloc, declined to comment.

XRG, the international investment arm of ADNOC, said some of the Commission's information requests appear to be irrelevant to the deal.

"Clearly, if such a decision were taken, we would be very disappointed," an XRG spokesperson said, referring to the temporary halt in the EU investigation.

"Some of the information requests are unreasonably broad and unrelated to this transaction. That said, we are committed to finding a constructive path forward so that the agreement can be concluded in a timely manner."

ADNOC agreed the deal to buy Covestro last October, its biggest acquisition yet and one of the largest foreign takeovers of an EU company by a GCC state. Covestro's products include foam chemicals used in mattresses, car seats and insulation for buildings.

ADNOC had constructive talks with the EU competition enforcer on potential remedies on Tuesday, the source said.

The Commission opened an investigation into the deal in July, warning about possible subsidies granted by the United Arab Emirates, including an unlimited guarantee as well as a committed capital increase by ADNOC into Covestro.

ADNOC declined to comment. The Commission, which has set a December 2 deadline for its decision, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.