Industri Kapital, the Swedish buy-out group, has handed Deutsche Bank the mandate to explore all options for its investment in Sydsvenska Kemi, a Swedish specialist chemical processing firm and one of its biggest investments.

A spokeswoman for Industri Kapital said: "The way chemical assets are valued at the moment we would not be responsible owners if we did not look at all the options. This may include a refinancing, a merger or an exit."