Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is said to have has raised its bid for LyondellBasell to around $15 billion from an earlier offer of $13.5 billion.
The company is also said to have included stock and cash options, for shareholders and creditors, in its revised offer, to make it more lucrative. Sources said the new bid was placed on 19 February, which was the deadline for RIL to submit its revised proposal.
However, this development has not been confirmed by RIL. In early January, RIL had raised its offer for a controlling stake in LyondellBasell to an enterprise value of $13.5 billion. The latest revision in RIL’s bid comes after the management of LyondellBasell entered into a deal with unsecured creditors, who had been blocking its attempts to emerge from bankruptcy.
The agreement, subject to court approvals, raised the amount that will be paid out to holders of general unsecured claims by $150 million. Under the new agreement, an amount of $450 million will be distributed to the holders of general unsecured claims, millennium bonds and 2015 notes against the earlier offer of  $300 million.
The revised bid by RIL has, therefore, improved its prospects for the acquisition of the petrochemicals maker. We maintain a BUY on RIL, with a target price of Rs1,260.
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