Evonik Industries, the German chemicals conglomerate formerly known as RAG, has reportedly decided to choose an initial public offering over a private equity sale, as buyout firms find the leveraged loans needed to finance big acquisitions hard to come by.

Reuters reports that the Frankfurt-based company, which has been considering both a sale and initial public offering for more than a year, is to launch an initial public offering expected to raise about €5bn ($7.4bn).