Fate of Bayer Division to be Decided

The Handelsblatt newspaper reported that the board of directors of chemical giant Bayer could decide on the fate of the NewCo chemical division of the company as early as this Thursday. The board is to decide whether NewCo should be floated, thus granting it an independent status, or whether Bayer will simply divide the shares out between its existing shareholders. Towards the end of last year Bayer announced plans to break with its traditional structure and to float sections of its chemical and polymer operations on the stock exchange by the start of 2005. But the preparations for giving NewCo an independent status have been steaming ahead, and Bayer head, Werner Wenning told the Handelsblatt that he wanted NewCo to be operating independently by July 1, 2004.