AKZO Nobel, the Dutch chemicals group, yesterday said the flotation of its Organon BioSciences drugs business was imminent, putting an end to rumours that the division would be snapped up by venture capitalists.

The announcement allays fears over the future of Organon's plant at Newhouse, Lanarkshire, one of Scotland's largest private-sector research and development hubs.

At the same time, the company yesterday also reported fourth-quarter operating profit below expectations.

Earnings before interest and taxes, excluding special items, climbed 11% to 249m (£167m), pressured by energy and raw material prices at the coatings and chemical units.

The figure came below an average forecast of 301m of analysts, whose estimates ranged from 226m to 368m.

On the planned separation of its Organon pharma unit, Akzo Nobel said an initial public offering was imminent.

Akzo chief executive Hans Wijers said: "We would be surprised if the initial public offering were not done before the end of March."

Organon employs 350 at the Scottish site, where it makes contraceptive pills, long-lasting contraceptive injections, and the controversial synthetic HRT pill Livial.

It is also developing the male contraceptive pill and treatments for depression and psychosis. It has invested more than £50m in Scotland in recent years.

Akzo said it was planning to list between 20% and 30% of Organon, which analysts said was worth around 9bn.

Akzo said last month it was committed to an IPO, which many analysts took as a sign an outright sale was not in the works.

However, others said a sale of Organon remained a real option because Akzo had received several preliminary expressions of interest from private equity firms.