Who Finishes Evonik's Closure List?
BASF confirmed on Friday that it is in exploratory talks over a takeover of Evonik, three days after Evonik published a restructuring plan it has not finished writing. Six German site profiles, two business divestments and 3,200 job cuts are now decisions somebody else may get to make. Here is what that does to the contract you hold.
At 3:12 on Friday afternoon in Essen, Evonik's executive board published four sentences.
Twenty-five minutes later the foundation that owns nearly half of it published its own. BASF put out a third the same day.
Not one of the three mentions a plant, a product or a tonne.
The Evonik disclosure went out under Article 17 of the Market Abuse Regulation, which is the wording a company uses when it has inside information and no choice. The board confirms it "received a non-binding approach from BASF SE regarding a voluntary public takeover offer for all shares of the company," then says that "currently there are no talks taking place," then says it will not answer questions about it.
BASF's release, on the same afternoon, "confirms exploratory talks with RAG-Stiftung and Evonik Industries AG regarding a potential takeover of Evonik."
Read those two together.
One party says there are no talks. The other says the talks are exploratory and their outcome is open.
RAG-Stiftung settled it at 3:37, confirming it holds approximately 43.8% of the shares Evonik has issued, that BASF contacted it, and that it has three bonds outstanding that convert into Evonik stock. The approach went to the owner, and the owner picked up.
"What happens to a supplier's closure list when the supplier becomes the target?"
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