By Ludwig Burger and Arno Schuetze
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer (DE:BAYGn) is inviting financial investors to bid for its 60 percent stake in chemical park operator Currenta after initially failing to agree a sale to its former chemicals subsidiary Covestro (DE:1COV), three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Bayer, which is focussing on healthcare and crop protection after the takeover of U.S. seed maker Monsanto (NYSE:MON), has mandated Morgan Stanley (N:MS) to help with the transaction. Buyout firms and infrastructure investors have been asked to put in initial bids by mid-October, the sources said.
Currenta, which operates infrastructure facilities at German chemical complexes in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen, could be valued at more than 1 billion euros (890 million pounds), or possibly more than 2 billion, according to one of the sources.
Covestro, Morgan Stanley and Bayer declined to comment.