在陶氏以180亿美元购买罗门哈斯（Rohm and Haas）公司，亚什兰（Ashland）以33亿美元收购海格利斯（Hercules）公司后，面对风云变换的行业前景，有报道称德国化学生产商巴斯夫正考虑收购格雷斯和它还没有破产的公司。
泰晤士报星期三报道了巴斯夫的资产负债表及公司对未来增长的展望，称其有意向收购美国Rockwood化学和德国Cognis GmbH公司，对此官方拒绝评论。但是七月初期集团CEO Juergen Hambrecht曾向投资者表示，他期待化学部分有更多的整合。
巴斯夫对谈判并不陌生，它曾经在2006年花费将近100亿美元收购催化剂制造商 Engelhard公司，Degussa AG和CropDesign NV的建筑材料业务，还有树脂制造商Johnson Polymer。
位于哥伦比亚的格雷斯建立于十八世纪五十年代，他的建立者是爱尔兰移民，曾经的纽约市市长William Russell Grace。公司经过多年的经营由一个海运公司转为化学公司，曾经一度主要集中在米勒酿酒（Miller Brewing）公司。对于这个公司来说售卖将是格雷斯最好的结局。
格雷斯近些年的表现动荡不已，包括石棉矿责任和水污染事件，电影《公民行动》（A Civil Action）即是以此事件为背景拍摄。在2001年四月格雷斯申请了破产重组来处理它超过10亿美元石棉矿责任和各种环境保护罚款。
附英文：
Report: BASF could pursue W.R. Grace, other chemicals targets
Report: BASF could pursue W.R. Grace, other chemicals targets
German chemical giant BASF SE, facing a changing landscape in the wake of Dow Chemical Co.'s $18 billion purchase of Rohm and Haas Co. and Ashland Inc.'s $3.3 billion buy of Hercules Inc., is reportedly considering an acquisition of W.R. Grace & Co. out of bankruptcy.
The Financial Times Deutschland reported Wednesday that BASF, with a solid balance sheet and an appetite for growth, is also looking at U.S.-based Rockwood Chemical and Cognis GmbH of Germany. Company officials declined comment, but earlier in July CEO Juergen Hambrecht told investors he expects more consolidation in the chemicals sector.
BASF is no stranger to dealmaking, having spent nearly $10 billion in 2006 to acquire catalyst maker Engelhard Corp. as well as the construction chemicals business of Degussa AG, CropDesign NV and resin maker Johnson Polymer.
A sale would be a fitting final chapter for Columbia, Md.-based W.R. Grace, which was founded in the 1850s by Irish immigrant and one-time New York Mayor William Russell Grace. The company over the years transformed itself from a shipping firm to chemicals, and for a brief time held a majority stake in Miller Brewing Co.
But its more recent history has been full of potholes, including asbestos claims and a water contamination suit that was the basis of the movie "A Civil Action." Grace filed for Chapter 11 in April 2001 to help deal with its more than $1 billion in asbestos liabilities and various Environmental Protection Agency fines.
