Jul. 31--Dow AgroSciences, the Indianapolis maker of pesticides, seeds and weedkillers, just might remain part of the Dow family after all.

Parent Dow Chemical Co. said Thursday it is considering selling a stake in the agricultural business, rather than selling the entire unit.

Dow Chemical has been shopping the agricultural unit for months, along with other divisions, as a way to raise money to pay down nearly $10 billion in short-term debt it took on with its acquisition of rival Rohm & Haas Co. this year.

Andrew Liveris, chief executive of Dow Chemical, told analysts he was "very, very deep" into the possible divestiture of Dow Agro. Although there were interested buyers, Dow didn't enter formal negotiations, he said.

Dow is now exploring other options, such as selling a partial stake to another company or to the public, which would keep the company in the Dow portfolio.

"It's counterintuitive to sell it at anything less than a full premium," Liveris said. He didn't provide a potential value or asking price. Some have estimated the unit is worth more than $8 billion.

The agricultural unit employs about 1,200 at its global headquarters on Zionsville Road on the Northwestside.

The unit posted quarterly sales of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2009, down 12 percent from $1.4 billion in the year-ago period.

Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283.

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