LANXESS, the future company where the Bayer Group will combine almost all areas of its chemicals business and parts of its polymers activities, began operating as an independent unit on July 1, 2004.

LANXESS, the future company where the Bayer Group will combine almost all areas of its chemicals business and parts of its polymers activities, began operating as in independent unit of July 1, 2004. For the moment, the new structure only applies to internal functions. "We've reached an important milestone for the realignment of the Group on schedule," said Bayer CEO Werner Wenning. LANXESS will now be able to operate largely and independently, he said. The company is scheduled to be listed on the stock exchange at the beginning of 2005, and the decision as to whether this will take place via an IPO or a spin-off will be made in the coming weeks. Until the stock market flotation, LANXESS will operate under the umbrella of the Bayer AG holding company. In the future, Bayer will concentrate its resources on the innovative areas of health care, nutrition and high-quality material, thus establishing a sound basis for sustainable growth. "I'm convinced that both companies will enjoy considerable success in the future," said Wenning.