PARIS--French oil major Total SA is in exclusive talks with
chemical group Arkema to sell its adhesive maker Bostik for about
EUR1.74 billion ($2.25 billion).
The company said Friday that the offer from Arkema, which was
itself spun out of Total in 2006, values Bostik at 11 times its
earnings before interests, taxes, depreciations and amortizations
in 2013. Bostik makes products such as the Blu-Tack adhesive.
Total has said in recent years that it plans to sell between $15
billion and $20 billion of non-oil-producing assets, and others
with falling profitability, by 2015 as part of a program to improve
its cash flow and profitability.
The program following several years of big investments in its
exploration and production projects.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires