Akzo Nobel has lined up Henkel, the German maker of Persil and TheraMed toothpaste, to help it pursue a bid for ICI if the UK-based speciality chemicals company is willing to enter into talks. ICI is Monday expected to reject a second indicative offer from Akzo pitched at 650p a share but is thought to be willing to open discussions with the Dutch chemicals group. In June, the board of ICI rejected Akzo’s 600p-a-share indicative offer as too low. ICI’s shareholders have argued that the company is worth about 700p a share, higher than most analysts’ standalone valuations of up to 500p a share. However, Peter Ellwood, ICI chairman, will come under pressure from some shareholders to engage with Akzo following its revised bid.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 5:46 and is filed under Capital markets, M&A, People. Tagged with akzo nobel, Henkel, ici. Edit this entry.