What We Know About BASF's Rejected €10.3 Billion Bid for Evonik

Evonik Industries AG turned down a takeover offer worth €10.3 billion ($11.7 billion) from rival German chemical producer BASF SE, according to a Financial Times report cited by Bloomberg on Sept. 28, 2026. The rejection leaves open whether BASF will revise its approach, walk away, or pursue Evonik through other means, none of which the available reporting specifies.

The figure, if the deal had gone forward, would have placed it among the larger corporate transactions in Europe's chemical sector in recent years, according to the reporting. Neither company has issued a public statement confirming the terms of the offer or the reasons behind Evonik's decision to reject it, based on the material reviewed for this report.

What did BASF actually offer for Evonik?

The only publicly reported figure is the €10.3 billion ($11.7 billion) valuation attributed to BASF's approach, as described in the Financial Times report that Bloomberg cited. That single number is the extent of what has been disclosed about the structure of the offer. It is not known from the available reporting whether the proposal was for a full acquisition, a majority stake, or some other arrangement, nor whether it included a cash component, a share exchange, or both. Those structural details typically surface later in takeover situations, either through regulatory filings or subsequent statements from the companies involved, and neither has occurred yet in this case based on the sourcing available.

Why did Evonik reject the bid?

The reporting does not lay out Evonik's stated rationale for declining the offer. Companies fielding unsolicited approaches sometimes cite valuation as too low, timing as wrong, or strategic independence as the reason for saying no, but none of those explanations has been attributed to Evonik in the material reviewed here. Until Evonik or BASF speaks publicly, or until a regulatory disclosure requires one of them to do so, the specific grounds for the rejection remain unconfirmed.

How would a deal of this size compare to other chemical sector transactions?

The Financial Times' reporting, as relayed by Bloomberg, frames the €10.3 billion figure as significant enough to rank among the larger European chemical deals of recent years. That framing speaks to scale rather than precedent, since the sourcing available does not name comparable transactions or provide a ranked list against which to measure the offer. What is clear is that a deal of this size between two established German chemical producers would draw scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the European Union, though no filing or regulatory notice tied to this specific approach has been reported.

What happens next between BASF and Evonik?

BASF's next step is not established in the available reporting. A rejected initial approach does not necessarily end a takeover situation; acquirers sometimes return with revised terms, take a stake on the open market, or pursue a hostile bid if a friendly deal fails, while target companies sometimes issue formal statements once an approach becomes public. None of those paths has been confirmed for BASF or Evonik as of this report. The Financial Times report and Bloomberg's account of it represent the only public confirmation that an offer was made and declined.

The rejection, as reported, leaves BASF's next move uncertain and Evonik's rationale unstated.

What to watch

• Whether BASF issues a public statement confirming or revising its approach to Evonik.
• Whether Evonik discloses the board's reasoning for rejecting the €10.3 billion offer.
• Any regulatory filing in Germany or with EU antitrust authorities referencing the proposed transaction.
• Movement in Evonik's share price that could signal market expectations of a renewed or sweetened bid.
• Additional reporting from the Financial Times or other outlets detailing the offer's structure and timeline.

For now, the confirmed facts are narrow: BASF made an offer valued at €10.3 billion, Evonik rejected it, and the Financial Times first reported the episode, according to Bloomberg's account. Readers looking for the original reporting can find Bloomberg's summary of the Financial Times' story at the link below.

Evonik Rejected $10.3 Billion Offer From Rival BASF, FT Reports — Bloomberg