ChemChina Offers $2.7 Billion for Nufarm, People Say

China National Chemical Corp. offered A$2.96 billion ($2.7 billion) for Australian farm-chemical maker Nufarm Ltd., inviting two U.S. buyout firms including Blackstone Group LP to join, three people familiar with the matter said.

China National, known as ChemChina Group, submitted a letter to Nufarm on Oct. 31 with an indicative bid of A$17.25 per share, two of the people said, declining to be identified because the details are private. The company asked Blackstone, manager of the world's biggest buyout fund, and Fox Paine & Co. to take minority stakes in Nufarm, they said.

ChemChina would be the first state-owned Chinese company to team up with buyout firms for an overseas acquisition, the people said. Buying Nufarm will give it control of the world's second- largest supplier of off-patent agricultural chemicals as farmers plant bigger crops to take advantage of rising prices for wheat, soybeans and other foods.

``You'll see more of the giant state-owned firms teaming up with the big boys in the buyout industry,'' said Vincent Chan, chief executive officer of Spring Capital Asia Ltd., a Hong Kong based buyout firm. ``The benefits are complementary. It helps Chinese companies go overseas to seek growth, and boosts returns for buyout firms.''

New York-based Blackstone, which counts China's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund among its investors, in September agreed to buy a stake in ChemChina's specialty chemicals unit, China National BlueStar Group Corp., for $600 million.

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