BASF Balks at Evonik's Cold Shoulder While Analysts Reprice the Stock

BASF has voiced bafflement at Evonik's refusal to sit down for takeover talks, according to Reuters, with the chemicals group arguing that a sweetened offer of 24 euros per share made the rejection hard to fathom. Evonik, for its part, is keeping a narrow door ajar — WDR reported that the Essen-based specialty chemicals maker remains open to what it calls a purely informational exchange.

The standoff traces back to Evonik's ad-hoc announcement that it will not negotiate over a voluntary public takeover offer, insisting it intends to keep charting its own course as an independent company. Its stated rationale: the information currently on the table. Notably, Evonik's statement never mentions the 24.00-euro-per-share figure that Reuters has attached to BASF's bid.

Kamieth Draws a Line on Price

Chief executive Markus Kamieth had already signalled on Wednesday, speaking to Reuters, that BASF would not pay over the odds to land Evonik. Any transaction, he made clear, would have to create value for BASF's own shareholders.

That discipline cuts both ways for the stock. Deutsche Bank Research downgraded BASF from "Buy" to "Hold" on Monday, trimming its price target to 53 euros from 60 euros. The analyst flagged uncertainty and execution risk surrounding the Evonik pursuit as the driving concerns.

Guidance Raised, but the Quarter Leaves Questions

On the operating front, BASF lifted its full-year 2026 forecast for EBITDA before special items on Wednesday, now guiding to a range of 7.4 billion to 7.8 billion euros, up from 6.9 billion to 7.7 billion previously.

Third-quarter 2026 revenue came in at 16.4 billion euros, a 14 percent increase year on year. EBITDA before special items rose 15 percent to 1.6 billion euros. The free cash flow target for 2026 was left untouched at 1.5 billion to 2.3 billion euros.

Bernstein Research responded on Thursday by shaving its price target to 59 euros from 61 euros while reaffirming its "Outperform" rating. As dpa-AFX reported, the broker felt the strong quarter still left open questions about how the coming months would unfold. Several analysts, per dpa-AFX's Wednesday coverage, judged the outlook for the closing quarter disappointing — or at least below market expectations — and pointed to that as a possible source of pressure on the shares.

A New Legal Chief in Ludwigshafen

BASF also announced a personnel move on Thursday: Sören Bauermann will take charge of Corporate Legal, Compliance, Insurance & Security in Ludwigshafen effective November 1, 2026. His predecessor, Silke Wischeropp, has left the company.