BASF plans to list its agricultural unit: what it means for shareholders

BASF is best known as a chemicals group. But a large part of its business is agriculture: crop protection, seeds and newer products such as biologicals. This business is called Agricultural Solutions and had sales of about €9.6bn in 2025. In September 2024, with its "Winning Ways" strategy, BASF announced it would prepare the business for a possible IPO. In November 2025 BASF named Frankfurt as the exchange and a European company (SE) as the legal form. On 14 September 2026 BASF mandated four major banks to prepare the IPO. The aim is to be ready by mid-2027.

The two terms are often mixed up, but for you as a shareholder the difference is big. In a spin-off, shareholders of the parent receive shares of the new company directly in their account, without paying. In an IPO (here a carve-out), the parent offers part of the shares to new investors for purchase. The money goes to the group or the new company, not to the shareholders. So far BASF has announced a partial IPO: a minority stake would be listed, and BASF wants to remain the majority shareholder. BASF has not announced a spin-off to shareholders.

If you own BASF shares, as things stand you will not automatically receive agricultural shares. You do stay indirectly invested in the agricultural business through BASF, because BASF wants to keep the majority. BASF has not said whether its shareholders will get priority when subscribing. What an IPO would change: the market would get its own share price for the agricultural business. That shows how much investors value this part. BASF says the step is meant to unlock the "full value potential" of the business as a standalone agricultural company. Whether that works, nobody can predict. Proceeds from selling shares would go to BASF, not to you.

Many details are not known yet: how large the listed stake will be, at what price, whether new shares are issued or existing ones sold, and how the new company plans its dividend. BASF stresses explicitly that execution and timing of the IPO have not been decided. Both depend on capital markets. BASF plans to give a closer look at the agricultural business at its Capital Markets Day on 24 November 2026. If the plan changes, we will update this page.

In German IPOs you can usually subscribe through your bank or broker, if they offer the deal. The key information is in the securities prospectus, which BaFin must approve before the offer. It only appears shortly before the IPO. IPOs are often oversubscribed, so you may get fewer shares than ordered, or none. And the first market price can be above or below the offer price. Our BASF stock page shows how BASF makes its money today.