BASF raises Evonik offer to €24 a share, sources say

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MUNICH, Oct 23 (Reuters) - BASF BASFn.DE has increased its takeover offer for German chemicals manufacturer Evonik Industries EVKn.DE to €24 per share, two people close to the deal told Reuters on Friday.

The offer, increased from an original bid of about €22.15 per share, would value Evonik at around €11.18 billion ($12.51 billion).

Evonik had in September rejected BASF's €10.3 billion bid as too low, according to sources.

Evonik declined to comment, as did its largest shareholder the RAG Foundation.

Bloomberg News first reported on Friday that the German chemicals giant had raised its offer to more than €11 billion, citing people familiar with the matter.

BASF's renewed offer comes a day after Evonik's interest in acquiring US specialty chemicals firm Ashland ASH.N, valued at around $3.3 billion, surfaced.

Evonik's interest in Ashland started before BASF launched its takeover bid, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

BASF considers an acquisition of Ashland by Evonik to be too risky, according to a source close to the matter.

Evonik's shares closed the day 2.7% higher at €21.26, while BASF shares were up 0.15%.

JOBS GUARANTEE

Evonik's products include high-tech plastics and feed additives as well as ingredients for coatings and household products. BASF makes engineering plastics, super absorbent polymers, vitamins and chemicals for industrial uses.

BASF said on Thursday it would honour existing agreements to preserve jobs made by Evonik in the event of an acquisition and warned that more painful takeover approaches from abroad were looming.

"Any potential takeover of Evonik must be judged on the basis of the prospects it opens up for the companies, their sites and, above all, for the workforce," Sinischa Horvat, works council chairman at BASF, said in a statement.

"For us, one thing is clear: our existing site agreement remains in force. It must not be called into question by a potential takeover, nor must it be undermined by its financing or the resulting costs," he added.

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Evonik is based, said earlier this month that jobs at Evonik and its independent development must not be jeopardised by a takeover.

($1 = 0.8937 euros)

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner in Munich, Patricia Weiss in Frankfurt, Sathvi G Bhat in Bengaluru; Writing by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Editing by Jonathan Ananda, Matthias Williams and Susan Fenton)

((Sathvi.GBhat@thomsonreuters.com))