AkzoNobel To Split ICI Pakistan

AkzoNobel plans to split ICI Pakistan into two separate companies. Its paint business, which made up 17% of ICI Pakistan’s 2010 sales of $474 million, will go to a new firm called AkzoNobel Pakistan. The other firm, which will retain the name ICI Pakistan, will get polyester, soda ash, and other chemical businesses. AkzoNobel acquired a 75.8% stake in ICI Pakistan, which is a publicly listed company in Pakistan, with its 2008 purchase of ICI. It plans to hold onto a 75.8% stake in AkzoNobel Pakistan but will seek a buyer for its ICI Pakistan stake. AkzoNobel says the ICI Pakistan businesses “do not offer sufficient opportunity to create value within AkzoNobel’s transformed portfolio.”