Evonik said its board was willing to talk to BASF and explain its position on a purely informational and confidential basis
By Michael Hennessey
BASF said Evonik Industries refused to enter into talks over its takeover bid valued at $12.5 billion, a blow to the German chemical giant's attempts to challenge rivals from Asia and the Middle East.
Evonik said Friday it received an approach last week from BASF about a voluntary public takeover offer, but decided not to enter into negotiations as it focuses on delivering its standalone strategy. Evonik said its executive board was willing to talk to BASF to explain its position on a purely informational and confidential basis.
"BASF is surprised that the executive board of Evonik is not prepared to enter into negotiations in light of the attractive offer of 24.00 euros per Evonik share. and the extensive commitments made regarding employees and sites," a BASF spokesperson said in response.
The company, however, acknowledged Evonik's willingness to take part in informational discussions.
The offer implies a value for Evonik of around 11.18 billion euros, equivalent to$12.50 billion, based on share-count data provided by LSEG. BASF has a market cap of 47.60 billion euros, according to LSEG data.
Last month, BASF said it had entered exploratory takeover talks with Evonik and its largest shareholder, a foundation called RAG-Stiftung. Initially, neither company had publicly disclosed how much BASF offered.
RAG-Stiftung declined to comment on the latest developments.
BASF Chief Executive Markus Kamieth said last week that the company aimed to honor Evonik's existing site agreements, ruling out compulsory redundancies until 2032. Essen and North Rhine-Westphalia would remain important locations for the business, the CEO added, with at least one board member based there as well as the leadership of business and functional units.
"Our industry is changing faster than ever before. In particular, competitors from Asia and the Middle East are becoming stronger and stronger," Kamieth said. "The Evonik team is doing an excellent job. But our industry has been facing strong headwinds for years. And those headwinds are getting stronger."
Despite this, Kamieth said last week that BASF wouldn't pursue a merger with Evonik at any price.
"We owe this not only to our shareholders but also to our employees. But we're approaching this with the confidence that, together, we can build something that is stronger than the two companies on their own," he said.