Macquarie has emerged as a leading bidder for Bayer's 60% stake in chemical park operator Currenta, which the company is selling to reduce its debt.

Currenta operates chemical parks at Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen in Germany. The company currently serves more than 70 customers with 3,200 staff, providing electricity, steam and natural gas as well as transportation, maintenance and waste management services. The sale is expected to value the company at well above EUR2 billion (US$2.27 billion), including debt.

Bayer initially planned to sell Currenta to its former industrial chemicals subsidiary Covestro, but could not reach an agreement on valuation. Lanxess owns the remaining 40% stake in the company and has right to first refusal for the remaining shares.

Macquarie is negotiating the sale through its Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) arm. Should the parties fail to reach an agreement, Bayer will likely engage reported runner-up bidders KKR and DWS Investments, part of the Asset Management division of Deutsche Bank.