ICI a new begining

could it be 600p in the next few weeks?


Imperial Chemical In Akzo Nobel set to make ICI takeover bid - report


LONDON (AFX) - Imperial Chemical Industries PLC could be the subject of a
takeover bid by Dutch coatings business Akzo Nobel next year, according a report
in The Times.
Akzo Nobel is likely to move in on the British group in the first quarter of
2007 after it has demerged its pharmaceutical business - Organon - the report
said.
The Times report said a takeover of ICI would be expensive, requiring a
significant premium to persuade investors that the expansion of ICI's coatings
business would be better achieved within a paints colossus rather than alone.
The report adds that a deal might give Akzo competition issues in the
British market, where ICI's Dulux brand competes head-on with its own Crown
brand, but a deal with ICI would enhance the Dutch company's presence in the
American retail market.
The paper cited analysts who reckon that the global coatings market is
poised for a shake-up next year. The big players are scrambling for a position
in growing Asian markets, while tighter health and safety rules are forcing
small, family-owned companies to consider the cost of acquiring the technology
necessary to stay in the market.