UPDATE 1-Lanxess CEO sees more acquisition chances

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COLOGNE, Germany, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Lanxess AG (LXSG.DE) Chief Executive Axel Heitmann sees more opportunities for acquisitions while takeovers continue to transform the chemical industry, he said on Wednesday.

"I can see that large companies are splitting themselves up further, driven by increasing competitive pressure," the CEO told journalists on the sidelines of a media day in Cologne, Germany.

"We are seeing more (company) fragments coming to market," giving Lanxess the chance to look into a wide range of possible takeover targets, Heitmann said.

Larger takeovers that could transform Lanxess are, however, not on the cards as the company's recent overhaul has been largely completed, he added.

The German company's shares were down 4.2 percent at 21.57 euros by 1438 GMT.

Lanxess, which was spun off from Bayer BAYG.DE more than three years ago, has hived off low-margin businesses while expanding production of more profitable specialty chemicals such as synthetic rubbers in Latin America and Asia.

Heitmann said that the chemical sector is still at an early stage of consolidation compared with other industries.

BASF, the world's largest chemicals group, earlier this week launched an agreed cash offer for smaller Swiss rival Ciba CIBN.VX for 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($3 billion) to boost its position in the specialty chemicals business.

The move followed Dow Chemical's (DOW.N) $15.3 billion bid for rival Rohm and Haas ROH.N in July, which signalled that a consolidation of the industry was speeding up amid high raw material and energy costs. (Reporting by Frank Siebelt; Editing by Quentin Bryar)