Evonik Rejects Talks With BASF Over €24 Offer, Weighs Ashland Acquisition
Key Facts
Evonik has decided not to enter acquisition talks with BASF after its German rival raised its offer to €24 per share, valuing the company at about €11.18 billion. Evonik’s management board said in a statement dated October 30 that it had reviewed BASF’s letter but was focused on developing the company independently. It added that it was willing to hold a confidential exchange of views with BASF’s management, allowing it to explain its position and hear the rationale for the offer. That willingness does not mean talks on a deal are open, as Evonik maintained its refusal to negotiate based on the information available. The decision puts an offer above the previous proposal to the test of Evonik’s conviction in the deal, while keeping a channel of communication between the two sides open.
BASF’s initial offer was €22.15 per share, which Evonik rejected in September, before BASF raised the consideration to €24 per share. BASF said it was surprised that Evonik’s board was unwilling to consider an offer it described as attractive. The company said it had made broad commitments on employees and sites, points it has put at the heart of its defense of the proposal. Reuters cited people familiar with the matter as saying Evonik remained unconvinced by the industrial rationale for combining the two companies, despite being willing to hold a session to hear BASF’s vision. The dispute reflects a gap between BASF’s assessment of the offer’s appeal and Evonik’s view of the merits of combining the chemical groups.
Evonik’s interest in U.S.-based Ashland predated BASF’s offer, according to sources cited by Reuters, and Evonik had been exploring the deal for some time. The company is examining acquisition options in the United States to reduce its reliance on Europe, Reuters reported. The agency valued Ashland at about $3.3 billion in its coverage of BASF’s offer increase. A person familiar with the matter said Evonik did not want to buy the company at any price and would not pay "fantasy prices." Reuters also reported that the prospects of completing the deal had declined after financial investors showed interest in Ashland, adding potential competition to Evonik’s expansion efforts there.
The expansion effort comes as Evonik operates on a broad global scale; the company said it is active in more than 100 countries and has about 31,000 employees. Its revenue was €14.1 billion in 2025, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were €1.9 billion. Ashland, meanwhile, reported fiscal 2025 sales of $1.824 billion, down 14% from the previous year. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $401 million, compared with $459 million in fiscal 2024. These figures put Ashland in a smaller revenue context than Evonik, while the declines in its sales and earnings point to performance Evonik will assess as part of its evaluation of the deal.
In the market, Evonik shares rose 3.4% to €21.40 after a report that BASF had raised its offer, but remained below the offer price of €24 per share. At the October 30 close, U.S.-listed Ashland shares stood at $74.68, while U.S.-listed BASF shares closed at $14.97. These prices provide two separate closing snapshots and do not by themselves establish that the share moves came in response to news of the offer. BASF Chief Executive Markus Kamieth had said the company would pursue any potential deal only if it added value for shareholders. This follows an earlier approach by BASF to Evonik over a possible acquisition, which BASF described at the time as exploratory, while Evonik said it had received a nonbinding offer.
RAG Foundation owns about 43% of Evonik, making it a major shareholder in any path concerning the company’s future. On BASF’s results, sales reached €16.4 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 14% from the same period a year earlier. Earnings before special items also rose to €1.6 billion, up 15% year over year. On October 28, BASF raised its 2026 forecast range for these earnings to between €7.4 billion and €7.8 billion, from a previous range of between €6.9 billion and €7.7 billion. Evonik is scheduled to publish its third-quarter report on November 3, 2026, the next anticipated date on the company’s calendar after its stance on BASF’s offer.