Investors have cheered a possible divestment of Incitec Pivot's Australian fertiliser business, in the belief it could help the manufacturer avoid a credit rating downgrade and claw back ground lost to its major rival Orica.

The struggling fertiliser business has lived in the shadow of Incitec's explosives division in recent years and February's appointment of fertiliser president Stephan Titze appears to have revived the eternal debate over the merits of breaking up of the manufacturer.