Evonik's Defense Has Two Fronts: Fending Off BASF While Shopping for Ashland
Published on 11/01/2026 at 04:40 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Evonik's rejection of BASF's improved takeover offer is only half the story. While the board refuses to negotiate, the company may be pursuing a major acquisition of its own — a report that adds a second strategic track to a standalone path investors are still trying to price.
A "No" With a Narrow Opening
The board turned down talks over BASF's bid on Friday, saying it intends to keep developing Evonik independently. What remains is a confidential, purely informational exchange — a channel that stays open even as formal negotiations are explicitly refused. That distinction matters: sharing information is neither haggling over terms nor a surrender of strategic independence, and anyone betting on a combination needs more than the prospect of further contact.
BASF offered EUR 24.00 per Evonik share, which the bidder says represents a premium of almost 40 percent to the unaffected closing price. Reuters reported that BASF met the refusal with incomprehension and called its offer attractive. Chief executive Markus Kamieth had already set a limit on Wednesday, telling Reuters the group would "not pay excessive prices" — language that offers no basis for assuming a further sweetener.
The stock closed Friday at EUR 21.06, below the offer price. That gap should not be treated as a safely bankable return: Evonik has not opened negotiations, and completion is not assured. Timing reinforces the point — BASF expects to close a possible takeover at the end of 2028, so even a rapprochement would not mean a near-term outcome.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Evonik?
The Industrial Case Is the Real Hurdle
According to Reuters, Evonik still sees no convincing industrial logic for a merger, and that judgment is the central test. A higher price could sharpen the financial incentive without automatically dismantling the objection. BASF has pledged commitments to the sites and ruled out compulsory redundancies through 2032, with collective agreements and social partnership left untouched. Those assurances address important consequences of integration, but they do not answer why the two companies would be better off together than apart.
What would move the needle is a credible explanation of that logic, or a visible change in Evonik's negotiating status. Neither has been announced. Berenberg analysts and industry observers consider an offer of up to EUR 25 per share possible — an assessment, not a promised increase. Ownership also weighs on any deal: the RAG Foundation holds roughly 43 percent of Evonik shares, so a workable path would need to satisfy the anchor shareholder as well as the board.
A US Target on the Table
Alongside the confirmed stance sits an unconfirmed strategic option. Reuters reported on October 22, citing two insiders, that Evonik is examining a takeover of US chemicals group Ashland, with the review having begun before BASF's approach. Neither company commented at the time. A review is neither an agreed transaction nor a commitment to buy.
Evonik at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
On the selling side, Evonik plans to divest its Syneqt subsidiary. Syneqt told Reuters on Tuesday that it intends to remain independent even if BASF takes over Evonik, and that the roughly 3,500 jobs in Marl and Wesseling are not at risk.
Investors would do well to keep these threads apart. The refusal of formal talks is confirmed. The Syneqt sale is planned. The Ashland review rests on an insider report. Evonik's standalone course, in other words, is not merely a defense against a bid — it also takes in possible changes whose execution is still up in the air.
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