BASF Pockets €5.8B from Majority Coatings Sale as BioHub Signals Agri-Pivot

BASF CFO buys shares near 52-week high; agrees €7.7B coatings sale to Carlyle/QIA, opens BioHub biologics plant, and targets 2027 agri IPO.

BASF shares are hovering just shy of their 52-week peak at €54.01, having climbed roughly 21% since the start of the year — a rally that got a quiet vote of confidence from finance chief Dirk Elvermann, who scooped up stock worth around €45,800 at €50.91 apiece. The insider buy comes as the chemical giant executes a pair of high-stakes strategic moves that are reshaping both its portfolio and its production footprint.

The blockbuster transaction is a majority sale of the coatings division to a consortium led by US private equity firm Carlyle together with the Qatar Investment Authority. Under the binding agreement, BASF will retain a 40% interest in the business, which produces automotive and refinish paints, while the buyers take control at an enterprise value of €7.7 billion. That figure towers over the unit’s most recent book value, and BASF expects to pocket roughly €5.8 billion before tax from the deal. The closing is slated for the second quarter of 2027.

Once the transaction is completed, the coatings operation will spin off as a standalone company headquartered in Münster. Former manager Jens Lühring has been tapped as chief executive officer, while current head Uta Holzenkamp will oversee day-to-day operations until the handover is final. Carlyle, which has prior experience in the chemicals sector, plans to channel capital into the new entity’s sales infrastructure and innovation pipeline to bolster its long-term market position.

On the agricultural side, BASF’s crop protection arm has flipped the switch on a new fermentation plant — dubbed the BioHub — at the company’s Ludwigshafen headquarters. The facility, which cost a high double-digit million euro sum, marks a strategic departure from relying on external partners for biological active ingredients. Instead, BASF will now produce two key biologics in-house: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, the basis of the fungicide Serifel, and the active core of the insecticide Inscalis, derived from the fungus Penicillium coprobium. The process converts renewable glucose into biological agents, a step designed to make supply chains more resilient and scalable.

The in-sourcing push comes at a pivotal moment for Agricultural Solutions, which has operated as a standalone segment since May 2026 — a prelude to a planned initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2027. The division generated €9.6 billion in revenue in 2025 and is positioning itself to capture a bigger slice of the fast-growing global market for biological crop protection products.

Financially, the first quarter of 2026 delivered adjusted EBITDA of €2.4 billion, slightly down from €2.5 billion a year earlier as currency headwinds and modest price pressure weighed on revenue. Nevertheless, management reaffirmed its full-year forecast, targeting adjusted EBITDA in a range of €6.2 billion to €7.0 billion. The company also expects free cash flow to land between €1.5 billion and €2.3 billion over the course of the year.

The coat of fresh capital from the coatings divestiture will provide ample firepower to accelerate the broader portfolio overhaul, while the BioHub underscores BASF’s intent to capture more value along the agri value chain. With the stock trading near its 12-month high of €54.70, the market appears to be pricing in a successful execution of these twin tracks — even if the real payoff from both won’t fully materialise until well into next year.