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Syngenta has hired banks for planned IPO

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Could be one of the world's biggest IPOs this year,

sources say

(Adds Hong Kong IPO market context and industry background in

10-15 paragraphs)

By John Revill, Kane Wu and Oliver Hirt

ZURICH/HONG KONG, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Swiss-based seeds

and agrochemicals company Syngenta Group plans to apply in the

second quarter for an up to $10 billion listing on the Hong Kong

Stock Exchange and has hired banks to manage the IPO, two people

with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Basel-based company, controlled by Chinese state-owned

Sinochem, aims to launch the offering in the fourth quarter,

subject to market conditions, the sources said on condition of

anonymity because the information was not yet public.

Reuters reported this month that Syngenta could sell up to

20% of its shares in the IPO, potentially one of the world's

biggest this year, but that the size and timing of the offering

was not final and could change depending on market conditions.

Syngenta declined to comment on a possible timeline for the

prospectus filing or when the initial public offering itself

would take place.

"We will continue to assess our capital markets strategies

based on market conditions and other relevant factors that are

in the best interests of our shareholders," a company spokesman

said.

"As we always said, we intend to return to the capital

market when the time is right."

Syngenta has picked Chinese investment bank CICC

and Goldman Sachs ( GS ) to lead the IPO, said one of the two

sources and a third person close to the matter, adding that Bank

of America ( BAC ), CITIC Securities and UBS

have also been hired to work on the IPO.

Bank of America ( BAC ) and UBS declined to comment. CICC, Goldman

and CITIC Securities did not respond to requests for comment.

HONG KONG LISTINGS

The Syngenta offering will bolster Hong Kong's position as a

leading IPO market. Hong Kong's stock exchange reported on

Thursday a record profit for 2025 on buoyant trading activity

and a rush of firms going public.

IPOs and secondary share sales in Hong Kong raised $287

billion for 119 companies. Of the offerings, 85 companies were

from mainland China and they accounted for about 70% of the

proceeds raised, according to data from the exchange and LSEG.

If Syngenta succeeds in raising $10 billion, the flotation

would be the third biggest globally in the past five years,

after Rivian Automotive ( RIVN ) in 2021 and LG Energy Solution

in 2022, according to Dealogic data.

Two years ago, Syngenta scrapped an application for an IPO

on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, citing the industry environment

and weakness in China's equity market.

The company competes with U.S.-based Corteva ( CTVA )

and Germany's BASF and Bayer in the $120

billion market for crop protection and seeds, which is growing

around 2-3% per year.

The sector is going through major changes at the moment,

with BASF planning to separate and list its agricultural unit,

while Corteva ( CTVA ) is separating into two listed companies

concentrating on seeds and pesticides.