Akzo and Basell Complete Big Buys ...

Akzo Nobel completed the $16 billion takeover of ICI on the first business day of 2008. Akzo will retain ICI's paint business, boosting its share of the global paint market to 10–15%, and sell certain other parts. Akzo already has a deal to sell much of ICI's National Starch & Chemical subsidiary to adhesives maker Henkel. Separately, polyolefins maker Basell, controlled by industrialist Len Blavatnik, completed its $20 billion acquisition of Lyondell Chemical at the end of December. The merger creates a polymer, chemicals, and fuels behemoth with $43 billion in sales. The new company, LyondellBasell, is the third largest global chemical maker, based on 2006 figures.