The Germans BASF and BAYER and the American DOW are, according to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, at the top of the list of candidates for the acquisition of CROPSCIENCE, the agricultural-chemical subsidiary of AVENTIS. The latter hopes to sell CROPSCIENCE for more than EUR 5 billion. Other than BASF, BAYER and DOW, the Americans DUPONT and MONSANTO are also interested.