BASF Confirms It Approached Evonik About a Takeover, Shares Jump 7.2% as Evonik Says No Talks Are Underway

BASF SE confirmed Friday, September 25, that it is in exploratory talks about a possible takeover of Evonik Industries AG, the German chemicals giant's biggest potential move in years.

The confirmation came in a press release from BASF itself. "BASF confirms exploratory talks with RAG-Stiftung and Evonik Industries AG regarding a potential takeover of Evonik," the company said, adding that "the course and outcome of these exploratory talks remain open at this stage." BASF said acquisitions are a strategic option it "continuously" evaluates to strengthen its core businesses.

Evonik's own statement, released the same day and reported by tradingview.com, confirmed it had "received a non-binding approach from BASF SE regarding a voluntary public takeover offer for all shares of the company." But Evonik added a pointed clarification: "currently there are no talks taking place." The company said it won't comment further beyond its legal disclosure obligations.

The Money and the Stakeholder

RAG Foundation, Evonik's largest shareholder, confirmed it had been contacted by BASF about a takeover offer. Reuters, via Euronext, pegs RAG's stake at 43%. A separate account of the same Financial Times report, relayed by Yahoo Finance, described it as a "critical 44% controlling stake." Neither figure has been corrected on the record, so take the exact percentage as unsettled at this point.

Market values are similarly inconsistent across the coverage. Reuters, via Euronext, puts BASF's market cap at €45.8 billion ($52.2 billion) against Evonik's €9.2 billion. Investing.com's account of the same FT report cites a different Evonik market cap of €8.4 billion, with an enterprise value around €12 billion once net debt is factored in. Both numbers are floating out there, and nobody has reconciled them.

What's not in dispute is the market reaction. Evonik shares closed 7.2% higher Friday, after trading up as much as 8% intraday, according to Euronext's report on the Reuters wire. BASF shares fell 3.6% the same day. That's the market pricing in a premium for the target and mild dilution risk, or integration cost, for the acquirer, which is the textbook pattern for this stage of a takeover story.

Why BASF Wants This

BASF CEO Markus Kamieth said in June that the business environment for chemicals was "at its most difficult in at least the last 25 years," with industrial power shifting to Asia, according to Reuters via Euronext. BASF is at risk of losing its long-held rank as the world's largest chemical company by revenue to China's Sinopec. Last year, BASF posted group revenue of €59.7 billion ($68.9 billion), nearly matching Sinopec's chemicals segment alone.

Arne Rautenberg, head of equities at Union Investment, told Reuters there's a sound business case: "By acquiring Evonik, BASF could strengthen its position in the speciality chemicals sector and increase capacity utilisation." Evonik makes high-tech plastics, feed additives, and coatings ingredients; BASF makes engineering plastics, super absorbent polymers, and vitamins. The product lines complement each other. Geography doesn't. Europe is the dominant market for both companies, and BASF has said it wants more revenue from Asia, not more European concentration.

There's also an energy angle. Reuters noted European chemical producers have gotten a "temporary boost" because Asian rivals have been hit harder by supply disruptions tied to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. That's cutting against the broader pressure of high European energy costs that Kamieth cited as the industry's core problem. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen separately warned member states in a letter, reported by Fox News, that the bloc faces a "price crisis linking to a supply crisis" tied to the same Iran-related disruptions, and urged governments to cut gas and electricity demand.

The Skepticism Case

Big German chemical mergers almost never happen. The sector has historically favored portfolio swaps and bolt-on deals over full corporate takeovers, partly because overlapping commodity chemical businesses draw heavy antitrust scrutiny, and partly because German stakeholder structures, works councils, and government interest in strategic industries slow everything down, according to Newsquawk's analysis. Source-based reports like this one, carrying explicit no-agreement caveats, historically produce an initial pop in the target's stock and drift afterward, ending in either a denial, a confirmed formal approach, or silence.

That caution against assuming this becomes a done deal points to a broader tension. The market wants consolidation. The German system is built to make consolidation hard, through layers of corporate law and labor co-determination that slow actual industry restructuring even under real competitive pressure from China.

For now, both companies have confirmed contact and both have said nothing is finalized. BASF says the outcome is "open at this stage." The next marker to watch is whether either company issues a formal offer document, whether German or EU antitrust regulators weigh in, or whether RAG Foundation, sitting on a stake reported anywhere between 43% and 44%, signals which way it's leaning.