Takeover: Companies line up for ICI stake

KARACHI: Lucky Cement has indicated its intention to acquire around 70 million shares of ICI Pakistan Limited, which translate into a 75.81% stake in the company, says a notification sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Monday. Meanwhile, in another notification, Fajr Capital Limited and Icorp (Private) Limited have collectively announced their intention to acquire 87.9% of ICI Pakistan’s shares. The notification indicates that Icorp is controlled by certain employees of ICI Pakistan. In yet another notification, Nishat Mills, too, has entered the fray with an announcement of intent to acquire a 75.81% stake in ICI. The scope of the acquisition will be in all segments of ICI Omicron BV except ‘Paints’, as the paint segment is in the process of being demerged into a separate company. This separate company will operate under Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited, while ICI Pakistan Limited will emerge with a reduced capital after the demerging.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2012.