Akzo Nobel shares slide on ICI financing worries

16 August 2007 14:53  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Shares in coatings major Akzo Nobel fell 6% on Thursday amid market fears that its partner in the proposed ICI acquisition, Henkel, would have trouble financing the deal.

 

German adhesives producer Henkel had agreed to pay ₤2.7bn ($5.6bn/€4.1bn) in cash to acquire ICI’s adhesives and electronic materials businesses as part of the proposed ₤8bn takeover from Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel.

 

Henkel said it was still considering all options to fund the deal, including a combination of equity and debt and/or the divestment of non-core assets.

 

“We are absolutely sure we are able to finance the acquisition,” said a Henkel spokesman.

 

“We are looking at all areas before determining the financial structure of the transaction,” he added.

 

The deal was expected to close in the first half of 2008.

 

At 15:18 local time, Akzo Nobel shares had dropped 6.1% from Wednesday’s close to €53.53 on the Netherlands bourse, while Henkel shares were down 3.8% at €31.22 on Germany’s XETRA exchange.

 

The European chemicals sector suffered a general downturn as markets continued to feel the effects of continued turmoil in the US sub-prime mortgage sector.

By: Mark Watts
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly