The move comes just days before BASF's takeover offer expires - on January 18 - and a week or so after some minority Pronova shareholders suggested that the original €644m takeover bid was too low.
The German chemicals giant made its bid for Pronova last month, reasoning that the firm’s facilities in Norwayand Denmark – which can produce 2,500 tons of omga-3 a year – will cement its position in the growing drugindustry fatty acid active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) market.
Originally, BASF hoped to seal the deal by December 19 and had secured irrevocable acceptance from 59.4 per cent of shareholders when it launched the 12.5 (€1.69) Krona per share offer.
However, according to a statement released today, “BASF has received acceptances under the voluntary offer for a number of shares representing approximately 70 per cent of the issued shares and votes in Pronova." This is some way short of the 90 per cent BASF needs to complete the deal.