Political Heat and Unconfirmed Bids: The Two-Track Story Behind Evonik's €24 Question

A warning from a senior union-aligned politician has added a new dimension to the debate over BASF's reported interest in Evonik, shifting attention from the price tag to the potential human cost of a combination. Dennis Radtke, who chairs the CDU's social wing (CDA), told the WAZ newspaper that a sale to BASF risked the loss of thousands of jobs and called for the plan to be abandoned altogether. His objection targets the takeover itself rather than any individual term — a political risk assessment, not a confirmed consequence of any deal.

That intervention lands as BASF chief executive Markus Kamieth used his quarterly results appearance to describe a tie-up with Evonik as a sensible step. The two positions now sit side by side: the strategic rationale offered by the prospective buyer, and the employment concerns raised by the CDA leader. Neither settles anything. BASF's publicly voiced interest does not amount to a signed agreement, just as political criticism does not prove that jobs would go. What the exchange does establish is that the questions in play stretch well beyond the purchase price.

What Has Actually Been Reported

The financial backdrop rests on press reports rather than company confirmations. Reuters reported on 23 October, citing two insiders, that BASF had raised its takeover offer for Evonik. Handelsblatt put the cash bid at €24 per share, or roughly €11.2 billion in total — a figure dpa-AFX likewise attributes to people familiar with the transaction. No offer has been officially confirmed.

Evonik shares closed at €21.16, below the price named in the reports. That gap is not a locked-in return: the reported figure presupposes a transaction whose completion is anything but certain. Distinguishing a reported bid from a secured deal remains the central task for anyone valuing the stock.

A Separate Track: Evonik as Buyer

Running in parallel is Evonik's own appetite for expansion. According to Handelsblatt, the company has spent months examining a possible multibillion-dollar acquisition of US chemicals group Ashland, a review described as being at an early stage with no deal assured. Evonik has declined to comment on the speculation. The report also named JPMorgan and Perella Weinberg Partners as advisers enlisted to scout for targets — a detail that, on its own, is no evidence of an agreement with Ashland.

The market's reaction to the two strands has been markedly different. News of the possible US purchases triggered selling pressure, according to dpa-AFX, while the report of BASF's sweetened offer drew a clear positive move in the share price. How investors read Evonik, it seems, depends heavily on which transaction lens they are looking through.

Two Scenarios, Not One Strategy

The two threads should not be fused into a single corporate narrative. BASF's interest concerns Evonik as a potential target; the Ashland review concerns Evonik as a potential acquirer. For shareholders, the binding nature of each option matters more than the number of options on the table. BASF's reaffirmed interest is more concrete than pure market speculation, yet the reported offer stays unconfirmed, while Evonik's own acquisition review is explicitly early and open-ended. Neither justifies pricing a completed deal as fact.

A firm date now anchors the calendar: Evonik publishes its Q3 2026 quarterly statement on 3 November 2026. Until then, the open transaction questions and the political argument over possible employment fallout are likely to dominate the news flow.