Via C&EN's Alex Tullo, this news:
BASF has reportedly raised its bid for Evonik Industries to €11.2 billion ($12.5 billion), up from the $11.5 billion that Evonik management rejected, and this time BASF is taking its case for the acquisition to the public.
In a speech posted on BASF’s website, CEO Markus Kamieth addresses the concerns of the government of North Rhine-Westphalia that a merger between Germany’s two largest chemical makers could consolidate production and reduce jobs in the region. He promises that BASF would take over site agreements and would preserve other arrangements, such as compulsory redundancies, at least until 2032.
Kamieth also invokes the familiar struggles European chemical companies have endured in recent years due to high costs and strong overseas competition, particularly from Asia. BASF is large and integrated with raw materials. Evonik, a specialty chemical maker, has to purchase its feedstocks. “Through BASF’s Verbund, these could be sourced more cost-effectively, more directly, and more reliably from within the company,” he says.
Kamieth also warns that German chemical companies could eventually become the targets of foreign buyers. “The chemical industry is consolidating, one way or another. The question is: Do we shape this ourselves?”
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. purchased the German polymer maker Covestro last year.
Questions? Comments? Tips? Send them to me, senior correspondent Alex Tullo, at a_tullo@acs.org.
Kinda wild. Makes you wonder what will happen to Evonik if BASF moves on.
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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