Abu Dhabi, Apollo Pitted Against Batista Family in Braskem Race (1)

A global bidding war for control of Brazilian petrochemicals behemoth Braskem SA is heating up as its top shareholder faces pressure to ditch its stake in a company that’s poised for explosive long-term growth.

Three competing offers from big-name buyers are on the table. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Apollo Global Management made a joint 37.5 billion reais ($7.8 billion) bid to acquire all of the company’s shares in May; the following month, Brazilian chemical group Unipar Carbocloro SA offered to buy a 34.4% stake from shareholder Novonor SA for 10 billion reais ($2 billion). This week, a third bidder threw ...