BASF is reportedly considering taking over Evonik

Chemical giant BASF has set its sights on competitor Evonik. There are contacts between the two companies, a person familiar with the process told the Reuters news agency on Friday. The Financial Times had previously reported that BASF was working on a takeover of Evonik.

The renewed takeover speculation gave Evonik shares a real boost on Friday afternoon. With an eleven percent increase to just over 20 euros, they reached their highest level since May 2025. BASF shares, as prospective buyers, corrected by more than three percent to their 100-day line.

The Ludwigshafen-based company wants to deepen its global footprint and portfolio by taking over Evonik in order to better compete in the difficult industry environment, the newspaper reported, citing informed circles. BASF simply said: “As a general rule, we do not comment on market rumors or speculation.” Evonik also did not want to comment on the reports.

Evonik's anchor shareholder is the Essen-based RAG Foundation, which holds around 43 percent of the shares. However, it wants to reduce its dependence on the chemical industry and reduce its share to 25.1 percent in the future.

Evonik announced on Tuesday that, in view of the industry crisis, the company would continue its restructuring under interim boss Claus Rettig. “We will use this polycrisis to change old structures and position ourselves better,” said Rettig after a strategy meeting between the board of directors and supervisory board. The Essen-based group had already announced in June that it would cut around 3,200 jobs by the end of 2029, 2,150 of them in Germany.