Lyondell debt a concern

In an initial thumbs up to Reliance Industries, which placed a non-binding cash bid for a controlling interest in LyondellBasell last week, its shares went up 3.3 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange and closed at Rs 2,195 today. RIL had jumped 4 per cent to an intra-day high of Rs 2,205.

However, industry players and analysts say it would not be a cakewalk for the largest private sector company of India.

Analysts are cautious about the deal due to debt on LyondellBasell’s books. The world’s third largest independent chemical company has a current debt of about $19 billion and is trying to emerge out of bankruptcy proceedings. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2009. Also, the deal could be expensive considering that the company could attract interested bidders from China or Russia.

The acquisition is said to be around $10-12 billion.