BASF is looking into a deal to transfer the Russian assets and operations of its oil and gas business, Wintershall Dea, to co-investor LetterOne, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Offloading Wintershall Dea's Russia-based energy assets could allow BASF to revive plans for an initial public offering of the remaining business, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying.
BASF declined to comment. LetterOne did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wintershall Dea derived 53% of its first-quarter oil and gas production from Russia.
German chemicals group BASF said last week it had given up efforts to separately list Wintershall Dea via an initial public offering (IPO) for now due to the joint venture's exposure in Russia, part of the fallout from Russia's actions in Ukraine.
BASF said at the time it was still determined in principle to withdraw from the oil and gas business. Read full story
BASF was in a dispute over when to list the business with Wintershall Dea co-investor LetterOne, which had come out against a market flotation for the time being.
BASF owns a 72.7% stake in Wintershall Dea and the remainder is held by Letter One. The Russian investors behind LetterOne, Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, stepped down from LetterOne's board after the European Union imposed sanctions on them.
(Reuters - Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Louise Heavens)