Israeli holding company Koor Industries on Sunday denied it was in talks to sell a large stake of generic agrochemicals maker MA Industries for more than $1 billion.
On Saturday, India's Business Standard newspaper reported that United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL), India's largest pesticide maker, was in talks to buy about 39 percent of MA for some $1.1 billion from Koor, which owns 40 percent of MA.
The report sent shares of MA up more than 9 percent by early afternoon trading in Tel Aviv.
“We are denying it. It is not true at all,” said a Koor spokeswoman in Tel Aviv, without elaborating further.
MA is the world's largest generics agrochemicals maker. The Business Standard said that should UPL buy a stake in MA, UPL would then become the world's biggest.
A month ago, MA said it was examining a possible acquisition of a foreign company in its sector for a “significant amount,” saying it was in the early stages of the process.
Koor is 50.5 percent owned by Discount Investment Corp, a subsidiary of conglomerate IDB Development. IDB also owns another 10 percent of Koor.
Source: Reuters