German chemical company BASF SE said Friday it will carry out a two-for-one stock split next week, a move that it said was designed to make its shares available to a wider range of investors.
BASF said the split, approved by its annual shareholder meeting in April, will take place on June 27.
Ludwigshafen-based BASF said existing shareholders will receive an additional share for each share they currently hold at no extra costs. The aim "is to make BASF shares available to an even broader spectrum of investors," it said in a statement.
The company's American Depositary Receipts also will be adjusted accordingly, the company said.
BASF set the date for the stock split after announcing on Thursday plans to buy back another euro3 billion (US$4.7 billion) of its own shares by 2010, in an effort "to optimize BASF's capital structure and to increase earnings per share."
In April, BASF reported earnings of nearly euro1.2 billion (US$1.9 billion) in the first quarter, up from nearly euro1.04 billion a year earlier.
Shares of BASF were down more than 0.2 percent at euro92.24 (US$142.97) in morning trading in Frankfurt.
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