From C&EN, this news (article by Alex Tullo):
In a deal that would combine Germany’s two largest chemical makers, BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, says it is in talks to purchase Evonik Industries.
In recent years, both firms have been hammered in Europe by high production costs, cheap imports, and moribund regional demand. Both firms have responded by cutting costs and trimming their portfolios.
BASF, which generated $67.4 billion in sales in 2025, has reduced costs by about $2 billion since 2023 and has cut its payroll by about 4,800 positions over the past 2 years.
In 2024 BASF’s CEO Marcus Kamieth announced a strategy to focus on its core basic chemical, specialty chemical, and materials businesses. It subsequently sold a majority stake in its coatings business, one of world’s largest producers of automotive paints, to the Carlyle Group. It is also planning to spin off its agricultural chemical unit next year.
Wow! I guess that things have been pretty bad in Europe for a while, but this seems like big news. BASF says this is exploratory, but we shall see.
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looks like Blogger doesn't work with anonymous comments from Chrome browsers at the moment - works in Microsoft Edge, or from Chrome with a Blogger account - sorry! CJ 3/21/20