Financial Times: Access close to €4bn deal for Basell
By Lina Saigol and James Boxell in London and Najmeh Bozorgmehr,in Tehran
Published: May 5 2005
Access Industries, the private equity group controlled by Leonard Blavatnik, the Russian billionaire, is close to acquiring Basell in a deal that could value the plastics group at up to €4bn ($5.2bn).
Access, which has teamed up with Haldia Petrochemicals of India, was last night finalising the details of the deal, which could be announced as early as today.
Basell is owned jointly by Royal Dutch/Shell, the Anglo-Dutch energy group, and BASF, the German chemicals company.
The Access-led team is understood to have beaten National Petrochemical Company, the Iranian state-owned oil group, to win Basell after fears emerged that a deal with Iran would contravene US sanctions.
In February, Volker Trautz, Basell’s chief executive, said in a confidential memo that “the inclusion of NPC creates a special situation because of US regulations regarding Iran. As such, shareholders’ transaction process activities related to NPC are being carefully considered to ensure there is full compliance with US law”.
Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh, managing director of NPC, said yesterday that “although Iran’s petrochemical company is the winner of the tender bid to buy Basell in all aspects, we have been told unofficially that it cannot buy Basell due to the politically-motivated pressures by the US”.
US relations with Iran have deteriorated because of the country’s disputed nuclear programme. Several western companies, including General Electric and BP, have said they will not seek business there.
NPC said it had lost out on the deal despite offering to split out Basell’s US assets. The US is believed to have raised concerns about how Iran would use Basell’s technology.
The conclusion of the sale will complete a second major part of Shell’s $12bn-$15bn disposal plan, which will help fund a $45bn capital spending drive over the next three years.
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
