Bayer is said to have chosen investment bank Rothschild to advise on its plan for an initial public offering (ipo) of engineering plastics sub-group Bayer MaterialScience (BMS).

Quoting sources familiar with the situation, the news agency Reuters said a deal could value the unit at about €10 billion. BMS last reported sales of €11.2 billion.

Bayer's CEO Marijn Dekkers said on Sept. 18 that the divestment of the plastics business, which is to be rebranded, would free up money for investment in the healthcare, veterinary drugs and crop protection businesses.

Along with an ipo, the Leverkusen group is also weighing a spin-off of BMS to Bayer shareholders, the procedure used ten years ago to shed the chemicals business now trading as Lanxess.

A flotation on the Frankfurt stock exchange could see about a quarter of the shares being listed, one of Reuters' sources, said, adding that a listing in the US seemed unlikely from the current perspective.