Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s potential acquisition of Gunvor, an energy trading house, has reached an impasse due to disagreements between the two parties over the size of the deal, according to people familiar with the talks.
While Adnoc hopes to acquire all of Gunvor, or a majority stake, the commodities trader’s chief executive Torbjörn Törnqvist is unwilling to give up control of the group he founded in 2000, two people involved in the discussions said.
However, Törnqvist, who controls almost 90 percent of Gunvor, told Adnoc that he was only willing to sell a minority stake as a way to raise funds to fuel growth.
Gunvor and Adnoc declined to comment.