Following its successful reorganization, the Bayer Group intends to maintain its focus on its core businesses and in the future concentrate on health care, nutrition and innovative materials. For this reason, Bayer Chemicals (excluding H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode) is to be combined with certain parts of the polymers business in a new company with the provisional name NewCo. The aim is for this company to be listed on the stock market under a new name by early 2005 at the latest. CEO designate of the new company is Axel Claus Heitmann, Ph.D., currently a member of the executive committee of Bayer Polymers and head of that company's Asia region, headquartered in Shanghai. "Both Bayer and NewCo will benefit from the split, because a stock market listing will be highly attractive for both shareholders and employees," explained Bayer CEO Werner Wenning. "Following the separation, Bayer will be able to focus more closely on the core businesses in which we have excellent technologies, strong market positions and above all growth areas that we intend to further strengthen by pooling all our resources."

For additional information, visit http://www.bayer-ag.de .