Bayers To Sell Chemicals Unit

Bayer AG (NYSE: BAY) has agreed to sell chemicals subsidiary H.C. Starck to Advent International and The Carlyle Group for approximately Euro 1.2 billion. Proceeds will be used to help finance Bayer’s acquisition of Schering. H.C. Starck is a < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Goslar, Germany-based maker of metal and ceramic powders, specialty chemicals and parts made from ceramics and refractory metals. It employs 3,400 people and posted 2005 sales of around Euro 920 million. www.bayer.com< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />