ICI will finally be acquired by Akzo Nobel ......... where will this leave National Starch & Eka Chemicals?

Building on an earlier press report today, it looks as though the prolonged process for the acquisition of ICI is coming to a conclusion. The Wall Street Journal has today reported that after ICI had twice rejected bids from Akzo, a tentative agreement has been reached with Akzo and its partner, Henkel, amounting to a transaction worth GBP 8 billion (USD 16.3 billion). Later today (6-Aug-07), the WSJ reported that Akzo had gained limited access to ICI's books over the weekend to undertake a limited 'due diligence' which is expected to be completed ahead of the Takeover Panel’s deadline of August 9th.

Akzo was able to increase its offer after joining forces with Henkel, which in the event of a successful deal will acquire the adhesives and electronic materials business of National Starch, an ICI subsidiary, for £2.7bn. Where this would leave the National Starch paper business is unknown.

The full story will unfold in the coming weeks.

In an earlier report, ICI had rejected Akzo's advances and any deal would have to be approved by Akzo's shareholders - this is by no means certain according to Goldman Sachs. Please click here for the Forbes view.