BASF Charts Dual Course: Agri Spin-Off Moves Ahead as €1.5bn Buyback Reaches Final Week

BASF secures shareholder nod for Agricultural Solutions carve-out targeting a 2027 IPO, while racing to complete €1.5bn share buyback by June. Q1 results show mixed performance.

BASF is navigating a pivotal moment on two fronts simultaneously. The chemicals giant has secured shareholder approval to formally carve out its Agricultural Solutions division, targeting a stock market debut by mid-2027, while simultaneously racing to complete a €1.5bn share buyback programme before the end of June.

The buyback, launched in November 2025, has seen the company repurchase nearly 27 million of its own shares. The current tranche, financed partly by the proceeds from the Coatings division sale, expires at the end of this month. BASF is cancelling the repurchased shares, reducing the capital base and lifting earnings per share — provided operating cashflow holds up. The programme is part of a broader €4bn allocation announced at the Capital Markets Day in September 2024, with at least €12bn earmarked for total shareholder returns between 2025 and 2028, including a minimum annual dividend of €2.25 per share.

On the restructuring side, the agri spin-off has passed its critical internal hurdle. At the annual general meeting in late April, shareholders approved the hive-down of the German agricultural operations, which employ roughly 2,500 people in Ludwigshafen and Limburgerhof. The transaction was notarised in March 2026 and is expected to be registered in the commercial register in early July, retroactive to 1 January 2026. Once that is done, the path is clear for an initial public offering of Agricultural Solutions as a European Stock Corporation (SE) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, with BASF retaining a majority stake.

The division generated €9.8bn in revenue in 2024, and market observers value the unit at around €20bn. A new management board took charge on 1 May, with Livio Tedeschi leading Agricultural Solutions while Mary Kurian oversees petrochemicals, intermediates and other segments. A parallel IT migration to a new ERP system is already complete in North America and is on track for all other regions by early 2027.

First-quarter results for the group underline the mixed backdrop. Agricultural Solutions posted robust volumes but saw earnings squeezed by currency headwinds and the fallout from the Middle East conflict. Management says the business remains “on plan.” Group revenue slipped to €16.02bn, down €488m year-on-year, while EBIT rose to €1.261bn and earnings per share climbed from €0.91 to €1.06.

For the full year, BASF maintains its EBITDA target of €6.2bn to €7.0bn and expects free cash flow in the range of €1.5bn to €2.3bn. The same guidance also underpins the company’s CoreShift efficiency programme, which aims to cut fixed costs in the core Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions and Nutrition & Care segments by up to 20% by 2029, compared with the 2024 baseline. The first real test of CoreShift’s impact will come with the second-quarter report in July.

On the exchange, BASF shares have gained roughly 14% since the start of the year, recently trading at €51.19. That puts them comfortably above the 200-day moving average of €46.70 but still shy of the April peak of €54.70. The stock is also marginally below its 50-day average of €52.05, reflecting the lingering caution over energy costs, weak industrial demand and US tariffs.

The next few weeks will determine whether the buyback can gather further pace or whether the freed-up cash from the Coatings sale will be channelled into accelerating the programme. Either way, with the agri subsidiary’s registration imminent and the quarterly report due in July, BASF’s summer calendar is packed with milestones.