Enquiries begin for Bayer's spin-off company that will have a turnover of E5.6m

Enquiries begin for Bayer's spin-off company that will have a turnover of E5.6m

NewCo, the spin-off company that will hold Bayer’s chemicals and some of its polymer interests, has already attracted interest from potential buyers. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for Bayer’s $450m (E375m) polycarbonate plant in Caojing, near Shanghai, group chairman Werner Wenning said the company would stick to its plans for an IPO or spin-off to existing shareholders.

The business to be separated will have a turnover of E5.6bn. It includes Bayer’s chemicals operations as well as its polymer activities with the exception of polycarbonate and polyurethane. The latter will form part of a new Bayer Material Science arm. According to Wenning, the timescale of the split off of NewCo, which still awaits a name, will be late 2004 or spring 2005, depending on which option is chosen.