German chemicals maker BASF SE (BAS.XE) is close to selling large parts of its fertilizer business, two people familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday, confirming a report by the news agency Bloomberg.

The remaining bidders for the assets are Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara International ASA (YAR.OS) and Egypt Orascom Construction Industries SAE (OCIC.CI), the people added. One of the people said Yara was the frontrunner for BASF's fertilizer assets, which have annual sales of around EUR500 million.

An industry expert told Dow Jones Newswires the business could be valued around one times its annual sales, or half a billion euros.

-By Heide Oberhauser-Aslan and Eyk Henning, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 108; eyk.henning@dowjones.com