BASF, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, has increased its offer for Evonik to a package topping €11 billion, according to people familiar with the talks. The latest figure is around €24 a share, up from a prior approach that implied a valuation near €10.3 billion.
Alongside the higher price, the bid includes pledges covering Evonik's workforce and production locations. Essen, where Evonik is based, would remain a significant site if the companies combine. BASF and Evonik both declined to comment. Discussions are still underway and may not lead to a deal.
Evonik's stock jumped as much as 5.2% on Friday. By 3:56 p.m. local time, shares were up 2.6% at €21.24, putting its market value at about €10 billion.
MKI Global Partners put it bluntly: "Investors expect an offer of above €24, maybe €24.50 is needed to get Evonik to the negotiation table," adding that "an agreed deal could ultimately take place at around €25, depending on the concessions required by BASF." Earlier reporting indicated BASF had been weighing a move toward €11 billion, and this week the company said it would keep Evonik's current job guarantees in place through 2032. The fresh bid is roughly a 38% uplift to Evonik's last close before BASF's interest surfaced in September.
Support from RAG-Stiftung, Evonik's top shareholder, will be crucial. The foundation, created in 2007 to manage and fund the end of hard coal mining and its environmental legacy, is overseen by a board that includes Michael Vassiliadis. He sits on BASF's supervisory board and leads the IGBCE labor union. The foundation depends on Evonik's dividend to finance drainage pumps across the Ruhr.
BASF, one of the biggest global chemicals groups with a market cap around €47 billion, is restructuring. Over the summer it sold a majority stake in its coatings arm to Carlyle Group Inc., and it is getting its Agricultural Solutions division ready for a possible Frankfurt listing.
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Folding Evonik into BASF would expand BASF's lineup with more specialty offerings. Evonik leans into higher margin areas such as additives, adhesive resins and high performance polymers. Separately, Evonik is evaluating a purchase of US based Ashland Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
The backdrop is tough. Europe's chemicals makers face soft demand and excess global supply, triggering closures, layoffs, bankruptcies and selloffs. BASF Chief Executive Officer Markus Kamieth argues that combining with Evonik could boost scale and help compete with Chinese players. Any tie up would also ride a broader M&A wave in Germany, where activity across defense, banks, industrial names and even schnapps makers has 2026 lining up as a standout year for deals.
The bottom line: a higher price and job pledges have moved the chessboard, but there is no certainty yet. If talks progress, watch the final bid level versus the cited €24 to €25 range, the stance of RAG-Stiftung, and how BASF's restructuring plan meshes with Evonik's specialty focus.
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