Evonik's Books Are the Prize as BASF Standoff Heads for a November Verdict
Published on 10/19/2026 at 19:21 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Evonik's shareholders are discovering that a takeover approach can be as much a waiting game as a windfall. More than a week after the Essen-based specialty chemicals group turned down BASF's informal opening bid of EUR 22.15 per share as too low, the two companies remain locked in a standoff in which the only thing moving quickly is the calendar.
At the heart of the impasse sits a simple demand: BASF wants to see Evonik's accounts before it considers raising its offer. People familiar with the transaction say the Ludwigshafen rival is in principle open to a higher price, but has made any improvement conditional on prior access to the books. With no direct talks currently under way between the two chemical groups, attention has shifted to the owners, the politicians and the operating business.
Düsseldorf Sends a Cool Signal
Political resistance has hardened. North Rhine-Westphalia's economy minister, Mona Neubaur, told the state parliament in Düsseldorf that the regional government opposes a takeover of Evonik by BASF, according to Handelsblatt. The concern centres on the loss of industrial core competencies and of sites — a worry that assurances from Ludwigshafen have done little to dispel. Reuters reported that BASF has told informed circles it would honour existing employment and site guarantees in Germany in the event of a takeover.
The RAG-Stiftung, Evonik's anchor shareholder, holds a decisive vote in any further development. Its executive board briefed the foundation's curatorium on BASF's interest, but stopped short of taking a position for or against the offer, leaving the shareholder's stance open for now. According to Handelsblatt, the foundation instead pointed the two groups toward bilateral talks.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Evonik?
A Share Price That Leaves Little Room
The market has already priced in a good deal of the courtship. At EUR 21.42, Evonik commands a market capitalisation of EUR 9.78 billion and trades just 1.9% below its 52-week high — a valuation that suggests investors are not treating the rejection of the first approach as the end of BASF's advances.
That same strength cuts both ways. The higher the shares climb, the thinner the headroom for an improved bid if BASF maintains its reservations about profitability. Without deeper insight into the Essen group's books, the Ludwigshafen side shows no willingness to top up its financial offer.
Recycling Project Rolls On Regardless
Away from the bid battle, Evonik's management is pressing ahead with its own project pipeline. Roughly a week ago the company launched a joint initiative with Toyotsu Chemiplas and Sanyo Chemical in Japan aimed at chemical recycling of polyurethane foam, recovering recycled polyols and amines for use in new products.
Under the arrangement, Toyotsu Chemiplas handles collection and logistics, Sanyo Chemical contributes polyol development, and Evonik brings its hydrolysis recycling process to the table as the partners test a scalable model for commercialisation. The venture is designed to establish specialised circular-economy approaches in the Asian market and underscores the board's determination to drive strategic development under Evonik's own steam.
November 3 Is the Next Fixed Point
Whether Evonik can keep travelling that independent road depends heavily on how BASF and the RAG-Stiftung act in the coming weeks — and on what the numbers say. The group's own financial calendar has November 3 marked for publication of third-quarter 2026 results, a report that will lay out the operating earnings picture while the strategic debate over the company's future rumbles on in the background.
For investors, the interim statement is the next hard data point in a story so far driven by headlines, political soundbites and a suitor kept waiting at the door.
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