This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/6943609.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| ICI agrees to be bought by Akzo | ICI agrees to be bought by Akzo |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| ICI, the chemicals company that was once a giant of British industry, has agreed to be taken over by its Dutch rival Akzo Nobel. | ICI, the chemicals company that was once a giant of British industry, has agreed to be taken over by its Dutch rival Akzo Nobel. |
| The agreed price is 670 pence per share, which values ICI at about £8bn. | The agreed price is 670 pence per share, which values ICI at about £8bn. |
| Akzo has also agreed that Germany's Henkel will buy ICI's adhesives and electronic materials unit for £2.7bn. | Akzo has also agreed that Germany's Henkel will buy ICI's adhesives and electronic materials unit for £2.7bn. |
| The takeover will have to be cleared by regulators, who may be concerned that owning Crown and Dulux will give Akzo too much of the UK paint market. | The takeover will have to be cleared by regulators, who may be concerned that owning Crown and Dulux will give Akzo too much of the UK paint market. |
| Akzo first approached ICI in June with an offer of 600p a share but was rebuffed, and a second offer in July of 650p a share as also rejected. | |
| However, ICI agreed to open its books to Akzo last week after the offer was raised to 670p plus a dividend of up to 5p per share. | |
| Industrial giant | |
| ICI was formed in 1926 by the combination of four British chemicals companies. | |
| In 1984 it became the first British company to report profits before tax of £1bn. | |
| But in 1993 it began slimming down by spinning off its pharmaceuticals business as Zeneca, which later became AstraZeneca. | |
| Products developed by ICI over the years include polythene - the world's first plastic - and Paludrine, which was the first synthetic treatment for Malaria. |