Evonik's €24 Bid Meets Its Real Gatekeeper: A 43% Shareholder and a November Date
Published on 10/26/2026 at 02:52 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Evonik shares climbed 3.4% on Friday after Reuters reported that BASF had lifted its takeover offer to €24 per share, yet the stock closed at €21.40 — a gap that says as much about what remains unresolved as the rally says about optimism. The market priced the headline, not a deal.
That distinction runs through every strand of the story. Reuters, citing several people familiar with the talks, put the sweetened bid at more than €11 billion, and reported that it comes bundled with guarantees on jobs and production sites. Evonik is reviewing the proposal, according to the news agency; spokespeople for both companies declined to comment. None of that amounts to acceptance, and none of it signals a decision on how the talks will end.
The owner holds the cards
Price alone will not settle the matter. The RAG-Stiftung, which owns roughly 43% of Evonik's shares, is the pivotal player in the takeover poker, and a higher purchase price does not by itself constitute a breakthrough. Evonik rejected the lower offer in September and has so far shown no willingness to enter talks on a merger. No official negotiations are under way.
Reports from dpa and dpa-AFX, citing people close to the transaction, describe the financial framework now on the table: about €24 per share, or a good €11 billion in total. Bloomberg had reported on the approach earlier. For investors, the line between a reported offer and an agreed combination is the one that matters — the richer bid neither resolves the question of Evonik's readiness to talk nor substitutes for the main owner's consent.
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Kamieth's pledges go beyond the cheque
BASF chief executive Markus Kamieth is simultaneously trying to ease concerns among politicians and employees. In a video message published on Thursday, he promised no compulsory redundancies in the event of an Evonik takeover through 2032, with collective agreements and co-determination preserved. Those commitments address the terms of a possible combination rather than its price, and they apply only if a deal happens — they are no evidence that one has been reached.
The courtship extends to sites as well. BASF believes continued operation of the Marl and Wesseling chemical parks is possible; the operator being sold, Syneqt, employs around 3,500 people. Essen, or North Rhine-Westphalia at least, is also meant to retain a board-level function. That goes further than general job guarantees, encompassing the future footprint and the potential survival of the parks, though it carries no final decision on their fate.
A separate clock is ticking
While the takeover review runs, Evonik's operating story continues on its own schedule. The company will publish its quarterly statement for the third quarter of 2026 on 3 November 2026, the next scheduled anchor for judging business performance. The report and the bid review answer different questions — one concerns day-to-day operations, the other the terms BASF has proposed — and Friday's share-price gain settles neither.
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Product work proceeds in parallel, regardless of the process. Evonik announced new PEEK dental materials on 20 October, intended for long-term fixed and removable prosthetic solutions. A day earlier it launched Lypron, a rumen-stable lysine solution that extends its amino-acid balancing concept for ruminants.
Two valuation questions therefore remain distinct for shareholders: what business development Evonik reports, and whether the offer under review actually becomes a takeover. Between BASF's wooing and any conclusion sit the same obstacles — a price, employment and site commitments that must convince the key parties, and an owner whose assent has yet to be given.
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