BASF said its deputy chief executive Martin Brudermueller would not become the head of industrial gases producer Linde, denying a newspaper report saying Brudermueller was shortlisted for the job.

"Mr. Brudermueller is not available for this position," a BASF spokeswoman said on Thursday.

German paper Die Welt said in its Thursday edition that Brudermueller and Henkel CEO Kasper Rorsted were among the frontrunners to succeed Linde CEO Wolfgang Reitzle, whose term expires next year.