EU Clears European Chemical Takeover

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Akzo Nobel NV on Friday won EU approval for its $17.1 billion acquisition of Imperial Chemicals Industries PLC, but it must sell off Britain’s Crown Paints and an adhesive business to clear antitrust concerns.

The European Commission said it had identified “serious competition concerns” with the control the 11.8 billion-euro deal would originally have given the company over the paint business in Britain, Ireland and Belgium, as well as on the entire European market for industrial glue for artificial wood.

By agreeing to sell off Akzo Nobel’s Crown Paints and turn ICI’s stake in gluemaker Purbond AG over to German chemical company Henkel KGaA, the companies would “allow alternative sources of supply for customers to be established,” EU regulators said.

Akzo Nobel intends to pay for ICI with 11 billion euros ($16 billion) in cash proceeds from its sale of Organon BioSciences to the U.S. pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough.

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On the Net:

http://www.akzonobel.com

http://www.ici.com