Company Spotlight Covestro: Recent Developments, Acquisition, and Plastics

Covestro is undergoing fundamental changes under new ownership. What the acquisition by ADNOC means, what role the circular economy and recycling play, and where the company is headed—an overview. 

Covestro is a portmanteau of the words “collaboration,” “invest,” and “strong.” The Leverkusen-based company was spun off from Bayer’s former plastics division in 2015 and primarily produces high-performance and specialty plastics, such as polycarbonates, polyurethanes, and precursors for coatings and adhesives. 

In addition to new products, Covestro has been in the public spotlight in recent months primarily because of its corporate structure. This is because the company is now majority-owned by Arab investors. Adnoc, the state-owned oil and energy company based in Abu Dhabi, completed the acquisition through its investment firm XRG at the end of 2025. 

Landmark Deal: ADNOC's Acquisition of Covestro

Covestro is a particularly striking example of a major structural transformation in the chemical and plastics industry:  from a German chemical company to the centerpiece of Abu Dhabi’s global chemical strategy.

After about 15 months of negotiations, a deal worth 16 billion euros—including a capital increase—was concluded in December 2024 between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Covestro. In the deal, the state-owned company from Abu Dhabi offered over 60 euros per share to convince shareholders of the plan—and succeeded. 

It would take nearly another 12 months before the acquisition was finalized. At the end of 2025, the company received the final pending regulatory approval from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy under foreign trade law for its strategic partnership. This means that all conditions for closing the transaction have been met. The deal was valued at approximately 14.7 billion euros. 

The acquisition was also accompanied by changes in personnel on the Supervisory Board and Executive Board . The current CEO, Markus Steilemann, has informed the Supervisory Board that he does not intend to renew his contract, which is set to expire in May 2028. No reasons have been given so far. 

In addition, both Chief Financial Officer Christian Baier and Supervisory Board Chairman Richard Pott announced their resignations. Baier will leave Covestro as early as September 2026. Klaus Fröhlich will succeed him effective October 1, 2026. Pott had already left the company in December 2025. He was succeeded by Dr. Rainer Seele effective December 20—10 days after the closing of the ADNOC deal.

Product Portfolio & Industries

Covestro is organized into the Performance Materials and Solutions & Specialties segments. These encompass the polycarbonate, polyurethane, coatings, and adhesives businesses. The application sectors include, among others, automotive and electronics industries, as well as medical technology.

Covestro is increasingly focusing on materials that are lightweight, durable, heat-resistant, or chemically resistant. Such high-performance plastics are of interest, for example, in the fields of electric mobility, renewable energy, building insulation, and electronics.

Facts & Figures

Covestro AG Revenue by Segment from 2015 to 2024 (in millions of euros)
 

The statistics show the revenue trend for Covestro AG by segment from 2015 to 2024. In 2024, the Leverkusen-based plastics specialist generated revenue of just under 7 billion euros in the Performance Materials segment, which includes polycarbonates and basic chemicals.

Sustainability & the Circular Economy

Sustainability, the circular economy, and recycling are the major issues in modern plastics production. Covestro is increasingly positioning itself as a provider of circular plastics solutions. The company aims to gradually replace fossil-based raw materials with recycled and alternative raw materials and to design its products in such a way that they can be more easily recycled at the end of their useful life.

Covestro relies on both mechanical recycling and chemical recycling. In chemical recycling, plastic waste is broken down into its chemical components, which can then be used to produce new plastics. 

In addition, Covestro is increasingly using bio-based raw materials and so-called alternative raw material sources. This is also intended to reduce the consumption of fossil resources.

Covestro Locations

Covestro operates 46 production sites and 13 research and development centers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Leverkusen. Among its major global centers are Antwerp (Belgium), Shanghai (China), and Baytown (U.S.).

Germany plays an important role as a business location. More than 7,250 employees (as of 2025) work for the company at a total of seven locations in Germany. That represents just under 41 percent of the global workforce. A large portion of them work in production, but also in research, logistics, and administration.

Facts & Figures

Covestro AG Revenue by Region from 2015 to 2024 (in millions of euros)
 

The statistics show the revenue trend for Covestro AG by region from 2015 to 2024. In 2024, the Leverkusen-based plastics specialist generated revenue of approximately 4.8 billion euros in the Asia-Pacific region.

Covestro in Germany (Overview)

• In North Rhine-Westphalia, the company operates in Leverkusen, Dormagen, and Krefeld-Uerdingen. The three locations have formed a successful network since 2010. 
• In Brunsbüttel, Covestro plays a dual role—as the manager of its own production facilities and as the operator of the Covestro Brunsbüttel Industrial Park. 
• At its Meppen site, Covestro manufactures high-quality synthetic resins, while its subsidiary in Bomlitz produces specialty technical films of the highest quality. 
• At its Buxtehude facility, Pontacol GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Covestro, develops and manufactures high-quality thermoplastic adhesive films for industrial applications.

News Ticker

An overview of the latest company and product news from Covestro

• Covestro and BYD have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a long-term strategic partnership. The goal is to jointly develop and apply advanced material solutions for future-oriented industries such as electric mobility and energy storage. Read more

• Covestro is coordinating an EU project on the world’s first continuous fermentation of bio-based aniline. This will provide polyurethane processors with a drop-in substitute for MDI that can be used without any process adjustments. The scale-up to a semi-industrial scale demonstrates how future raw material supply will work. Read more 

• Covestro has introduced the “CQ-Configurator,” a digital tool for calculating the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of flexible and rigid polyurethane foams in real time. This tool enables immediate validation of the CO₂ footprint of formulations and accelerates the development of climate-friendly material solutions. Read more

Transparency: This text uses information from Statista and Covestro. It was also created with the help of AI.