BASF has contacted German rival Evonik about a possible takeover that would strengthen the chemical giant’s geographical presence and product offering. Financial Times reports this, citing people familiar with the matter.
BASF is said to have recently presented a merger proposal to Evonik and the company’s largest shareholder RAG-Stiftung, which owns 44 percent. Evonik has a market capitalization of approximately 8.4 billion euros and an enterprise value including net debt of around 12 billion euros.
BASF, which is valued at around 47 billion euros, has according to FT been discussing a possible acquisition with banks since earlier this year. Talks between the parties have taken place, but there is no guarantee that they will lead to a deal.
The companies together had revenues of 74 billion euros last year. A merger is also expected to face scrutiny from competition authorities.
Earlier this week, Dealreporter also reported that BASF had investigated a possible deal with Evonik.
