ICI Pakistan split approved

Paints business to be separated from ICI Pakistan’s portfolio.

KARACHI:

ICI Pakistan Limited’s board of directors approved the demerger of the company into two separate entities on Wednesday.

AkzoNobel, the holding company of ICI Pakistan, in a proposal last week envisaged to keep the paints business while ICI Pakistan will keep rest of the portfolios including production of chemicals and soda ash.

AkzoNobel – a Fortune 500 company – after conducting a strategic review of its business in the country concluded that ICI Pakistan’s paints business offers clear commercial benefits while other portfolios do not align with its future strategic ambitions.

Both the companies will be separately listed at the country’s stock exchanges. The demerger is contingent upon approval by the shareholders, regulators and the Sindh High Court, according to a company statement. ICI Pakistan’s stock fell Rs1.35 to close at Rs154.92 at the Karachi Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

AkzoNobel is the world’s number one producer of paints and coatings and a major supplier of specific chemicals in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2011.