BASF CEO Markus Kamieth anticipates that the chemical industry is facing a significant wave of mergers and acquisitions. Speaking at the “Handelsblatt” and “WirtschaftsWoche” Germany Summit in Berlin on Wednesday, he stated that, as a market leader, the company intends to capitalize on these opportunities.
While Kamieth did not specifically address BASF’s ongoing tender offer for its Essen competitor, Evonik, at the summit, he justified the interest in acquisitions using industrial logic. He stated that a combination of BASF and another strong player in specialty chemicals would make significant sense, allowing BASF to leverage its strength in basic chemicals within the merged entity.
The current situation follows BASF’s recent offer of approximately ten billion euros for Evonik, an offer which Evonik’s management board has rejected. Evonik is ranked as Germany’s second-largest chemical company and focuses primarily on profitable specialty chemical products. Kamieth’s remarks marked the first public statement from the CEO following the announcement of the bid, although previously BASF had only confirmed exploratory discussions with Evonik, the outcome of which remains uncertain.
