€10 Billion Too Low: Evonik Rejects BASF's Takeover Bid

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents €10 Billion Too Low: Evonik Rejects BASF's Takeover Bid.

Evonik has clearly rejected the first takeover offer from BASF, according to a report by Manager Magazin. The specialty chemicals group based in Essen considers the bid from the world's largest chemical giant to be significantly too low – and is thus pushing back against the biggest consolidation attempt in the German chemicals sector in years.

The rejection carries even more weight given that BASF reportedly put around €10 billion on the table – an amount that reflects the size differential between the two groups. Evonik is considered the smaller competitor, but brings its own hard-to-replicate specialty chemicals portfolio to the table.

Who is Evonik?

Evonik Industries AG is a publicly traded specialty chemicals company headquartered in Essen and ranks among the better-known German chemical stocks on the MDax. The company serves areas including specialty additives, adhesives, coatings, and cosmetic ingredients – business areas considered high-margin but also capital-intensive.

At the same time, Evonik is under pressure: just a few days ago, the group announced the cutting of 3,200 jobs, more than 2,000 of which are to fall in Germany. Against this backdrop, a takeover offer from the ranks of the industry's heavyweights looks like a stress test for the company's independence.

Why BASF wants to strike at all

BASF describes itself as the world's largest chemical company. A takeover of "the number two in Germany," as the Süddeutsche Zeitung describes Evonik, would broaden its core business and significantly increase the higher-margin specialty chemicals share within its own portfolio. In a market groaning under energy costs, weak demand, and import pressure from Asia, many observers consider consolidation overdue.

What remains open

It remains open how BASF will respond to the rejection – whether it will improve its bid, or whether the approach will be buried. Both sides have so far remained silent on the price, possible conditions, or a timeline. The next move is likely to depend on Evonik's supervisory board and its major shareholders, including the RAG-Stiftung as a long-standing anchor investor.

What is clear, however, is the message from Essen: Evonik is not for sale at €10 billion.