BASF reportedly increased its proposed takeover offer for Evonik to €24 per share on October 23, 2026, valuing the German chemicals group at about €11.18 billion. That is more than the earlier reported proposal of about €22.15 a share, which valued Evonik at roughly €10.3 billion and was rejected as too low, according to sources cited by Reuters. The higher figure is not an agreed transaction: reporting described an offer and efforts to start negotiations, while BASF’s confirmed exploratory talks were still open-ended.
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How much higher is the reported offer?
Bloomberg first reported that BASF had raised its proposal to around €24 a share. Reuters later cited two people close to the deal for the same figure, and dpa reporting also described a higher offer of about €24 a share.
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The reported terms compare with an earlier offer of about €22.15 per share and a valuation of approximately €10.3 billion. At €24 a share, the new proposal would value Evonik at about €11.18 billion. Reuters reported that Evonik rejected the earlier bid as too low, citing sources.
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Those figures describe reported proposals, not a final purchase price. BASF confirmed exploratory talks about a potential takeover, but said their course and outcome remained open. Reuters reported that BASF hoped the improved offer would prompt Evonik’s management to enter takeover negotiations; dpa said official talks had not yet begun.
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Why the RAG Foundation matters
Evonik’s largest shareholder, the RAG Foundation, holds about 43% of the company, according to reporting on the takeover effort. That makes its position important to any potential transaction, though the available reporting does not establish that it has approved the higher proposal.
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The foundation’s board of trustees includes political and union influence, according to reporting on the initial approach. That context helps explain why job protections and Evonik’s future sites feature prominently in the public case for a deal.
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BASF is pairing its offer with job and site pledges
BASF CEO Markus Kamieth has promoted a potential takeover with employment assurances. He said compulsory redundancies would be excluded until 2032 and that collective bargaining agreements and social partnerships would remain in place.
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Reporting also described BASF pledges to respect existing site agreements and retain at least one executive-board role in Essen if a deal proceeds. These are commitments presented in the context of a possible takeover—not evidence that an acquisition has been agreed.
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Evonik’s Ashland interest adds another strategic question
Evonik was reported to be evaluating a possible acquisition of US specialty-chemicals company Ashland. Reuters put Ashland’s stock-market value at about $3.3 billion; that figure is not a disclosed offer price. The reported review began before BASF’s approach and became public shortly before the higher BASF proposal.
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The two potential transactions raise a strategic question for any takeover discussions: how would an Ashland acquisition fit with the business BASF is seeking to buy? The available reporting does not establish that Evonik has decided to acquire Ashland or that BASF has formally opposed the move.
What the market reaction says—and doesn’t say
Evonik shares rose as much as 5.2% after news of the higher proposal, according to market reporting. They closed Friday up 2.7% at €21.26, while BASF shares closed up 0.2%, according to dpa reporting.
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The gap between Evonik’s reported closing price and the proposed €24 offer is not proof of why investors priced the shares that way. It does, however, underline the distinction between a reported bid and a completed deal: the proposal’s terms, shareholder response and negotiations remained unresolved in the available reporting.