International Petroleum Investment Corp., the Middle Eastern investment group that acquired Nova Chemicals earlier this year, yesterday said it isn't planning to acquire Bayer AG's MaterialScience business but it could tap Bayer as a joint venture partner.

Nova and several other companies also are on International Petroleum's list as possible partners for a petrochemical plant it is considering building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where it is based.

Yesterday morning, ICIS, a chemical industry news service, reported from London that International Petroleum was in talks with several chemical companies, including German-based Bayer, about a possible acquisition. Several hours later, International Petroleum's managing director told Bloomberg News his remarks were misinterpreted. "All of these talks are for joint-venture projects and right now we are just talking," said Khadem Al-Qubaisi.

Bayer spokesman Bryan Iams said the company was aware of the report but, "We do not comment on market rumors."

Bayer's U.S. headquarters is based in Robinson, where it employs 1,500 including more than 600 who work for Bayer MaterialScience.

International Petroleum acquired Nova Chemicals in July for $2.3 billion. Nova's operations are mainly in Canada and its executive offices are in Moon.

International Petroleum, which has holdings of about $14 billion concentrated in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, bought Nova to gain access to North American markets and distribution channels, Mr. Al-Qubaisi said when that deal closed. International Petroleum was created in 1984 as an arm of the government to invest in chemicals and energy businesses outside of Abu Dhabi.

Bayer MaterialScience, which makes plastics and chemicals used in a range of applications including auto parts, construction materials and compact disks, took a hit last year when demand slowed during the economic recession. The unit's global sales dropped by nearly 7 percent for all of 2008 and by nearly 30 percent in last year's fourth quarter.

The business has seen some improvement this year but third-quarter sales were 20 percent below year-ago levels, Bayer reported last month.

Bayer MaterialScience has 15,000 employees worldwide and about 2,400 in the United States.

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