China is having a second crack at taking over Nufarm, Australia's biggest farm chemicals supplier, which has confirmed an approach from Beijing-based Sinochem.

The statement sent Nufarm shares soaring 13.0% to close at Aus$11.12 in Sydney, valuing the company at Aus$2.4bn (US$1.9bn), excluding debt.

Nufarm, which described the approach as "preliminary and incomplete", said it would "consider any offer or proposal it receives having regard to all the alternatives available to the company".

It added that there was no certainty that agreement with Sinochem could be reached.

A Sinochem spokesman told Agrimoney.com that the group "did not have any information to add" to Nufarm's statement.

Difficult period

The approach follows an attempt two years by China National Chemical Corp, China's leading chemical producer, backed by US private equity firms Blackstone and Fox Paine Management to buy Nufarm for Aus$3bn.

The consortium withdrew from talks in December 2007 without publicly giving a reason.

And it comes amid a difficult period for Nufarm, which in June warned it would miss annual earnings forecasts by 15%.

The alert came a month after Nufarm announced Aus$300m capital raise, priced at Aus$11.25 a share, when the group said it was on track to hit the profits target.

Nufarm shares, which stood at Aus$12.49 before the capital raise, fell nearly 30% before initial rumours on Thursday of an approach revived the stock.

Major shareholders in Nufarm include Doug Rathbone, the company's chief executive, who has an 11.1% stake, and Colonial First State Global, a fund manager, and Amalgamated Dairies, which each own 6.9%.