US opposition to Iran's NPC acquisition of Basell at 4.4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) has once again put the Purnendu Chatterjee-led group into the drivers seat. Investors led by Chatterjee seems to be the sole bidder for the petrochemicals giant after it was revealed that the Iranian company in the race could not be the buyer for political reasons. Chatterjee is bidding for Basell in a team with ICICI Securities and a clutch of US investors. Haldia Petrochemicals is expected to join the consortium once it gets a go-ahead from the lenders and the Bengal government, the other promoter. Iran still seems hopeful to win the battle to buy Basell.
Will this result in the biggest foreign acquisition involving an Indian? This seems like a tough decision for the current owners of Basell, as in retaliation Iran could block Royal Dutch/Shell's access to its oil fields.
05-May-05 
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