BASF Puts Green Power Behind Polyisobutene as Jefferies Warns on Margins

BASF will produce its Oppanol B and Glissopal polyisobutene grades for external European customers entirely with renewable electricity from January 2027, the company said on Tuesday. Product specifications and article numbers stay untouched, so buyers face no reformulation or reordering work. The shift covers only suitable polyisobutene products destined for external customers in Europe.

The announcement slots into a busy stretch for the Ludwigshafen-based group, which has been reworking its portfolio on several fronts at once.

Mining unit heads to SNF

On Thursday BASF signed an agreement to sell its global mining solutions business to SNF. Around 140 employees and the Cork production site are part of the deal, which BASF expects to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. The company did not disclose financial terms.

A billion-dollar bet on MDI

Two days earlier, on Wednesday, BASF officially commissioned a new MDI plant at its Geismar integrated site in Louisiana. The investment came to roughly USD 1 billion, lifting the site's annual production capacity to around 600,000 tonnes.

Jefferies turns bearish

That same Wednesday, Jefferies downgraded BASF from "Hold" to "Underperform," keeping its price target at EUR 44. Analyst Priyanka Patel pointed to shrinking margins, persistent overcapacity, higher European gas prices and a demand recovery that has yet to materialise. In Jefferies' view, spreads across the key product chains sit roughly 30 percent below mid-cycle levels, and the broker expects 2027 operating profit to land 5 percent under consensus.

The stock closed Friday at EUR 54.33 — comfortably above the target Jefferies reaffirmed.

Buyback keeps running

Separately, BASF repurchased around 352,000 of its own shares between 2 and 6 November, a move disclosed on 9 November as part of its existing buyback programme.