BASF has approached Evonik with a takeover proposal that would fuse the two German suppliers into the world's largest chemicals group, on combined 2025 revenues of €74bn, the Financial Times reported this week.

The deal would resonate well beyond petrochemicals. BASF's Care Creations and Evonik's specialty additives divisions together supply a substantial share of the surfactants, emollients, polymers, ceramides and UV filters used by beauty and personal care formulators across Europe.

What would the combined company look like?

A merged BASF-Evonik would combine BASF's chemicals, agricultural solutions and industrial portfolio with Evonik's specialty additives and care specialties businesses. For personal care procurement teams at L'Oréal, Beiersdorf, Unilever and Procter & Gamble — both groups already sit on approved vendor rosters — closing would trigger contract renegotiations and quality reviews across shared ingredients.

Why now?

The FT reports BASF approached banks about the takeover earlier in 2026 and continues to work on the structure. Dealreporter broke an earlier story disclosing that 2026 discussions had taken place, but cast doubt on a closing, citing BASF's "cash constrained" balance sheet and a planned mid-2027 listing of the agricultural solutions business.

Brussels, however, has signaled growing openness to European champions of scale, the FT said — meaning antitrust scrutiny would be heavy but not automatically fatal.

What has BASF said?

BASF confirmed the exploratory stage in a written statement. A spokesperson for the Ludwigshafen-headquartered group said in the same statement:

"The course and outcome of these exploratory talks remain open at this stage."

BASF also noted: "As part of its corporate strategy, BASF continuously evaluates the strategic option of acquisitions that strengthen its core businesses, deliver a strong strategic fit, drive profitable growth and create value."

The company pledged to inform markets "in accordance with regulatory requirements without delay, if and to the extent required."

Evonik has not, at the time of writing, issued a public response to the FT story.

What changes for formulators and brand owners?

• Supply continuity risk: Mergers of this scale routinely trigger six-to-twelve-month integration reviews during which raw material specifications and quality controls can shift.
• Dual-sourcing risk: Brands currently splitting volumes between BASF and Evonik may face forced consolidation of supplier audits after closing.
• Pricing leverage: A combined group would gain bargaining power across emollients, surfactants, polymers and specialty actives.
• Regulatory dossiers: Existing EU REACH registrations and INCI listings would transfer automatically, though portfolio rationalization could trigger reformulation work and dossier rewrites.

What to watch next

A formal Evonik board response, BASF's financing mix for any cash-and-share bid, and a possible Brussels Phase II competition referral will set the next milestones. Deal math becomes clearer once BASF publishes its mid-2027 agricultural solutions IPO prospectus — the structural constraint Dealreporter flagged — or when Q4 2026 trading updates reveal ingredient price moves tied to the speculation.