Imperial Chemical Industries Share Discussion Threads

[tsigoloroh] 02/7/2007 22:09

sold at 638, a good decision for a change will hope to buy in at 500p should the bid collapse

[peter119] 02/7/2007 18:49

drops to 6.00 will be back in,in the meantime good luck

[whatwoman] 29/6/2007 17:17

That is what all holders are praying for, or even an interest from a third party.

[gbchak] 29/6/2007 16:28

something may eventually be in the offing the way ICI is closing.. perhaps the long-awaited higher bid by AKZO..

[sagem] 26/6/2007 05:52

The most likely price that ICI will be taken out by is £7.00 AKZO need ICI and will pay the price...if they don't some other company certainly will. Although stated here is £6.50 I think they will go to £7.00 ;-

City rivals face off as AKZO targets ici

25-Jun-2007
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May must be sick of the sight of each other. The firms are squaring up on a bid for ICI, with Slaughters advising Dutch giant Akzo Nobel on its £7.2bn approach and Freshfields getting the nod from ICI. The firm advised the chemicals company on the £1.2bn disposal of its scent business earlier in the year to Swiss company Quest. But the corporate behemoths also came across each other in Bupa's sale of 26 hospitals to Freshfields client Cinven, secured last weekend. The private equity house paid £1.5bn for the hospitals from Slaughters client Bupa. Freshfields also advised Cinven on its 2005 acquisition of Partnerships in Care, the mental-health service provider, for £552m. Partnerships in Care was just part of the existing medical portfolio that clinched the Bupa deal for Cinven in a highly competitive auction that saw six private equity houses table bids.

[ride daice] 25/6/2007 17:57

Akzo is the company that can realise the greatest synergies by acquiring ICI. So who in their right mind is going to pay more that 675p for this company ?

[gbchak] 25/6/2007 17:49

i agree totally.. there is no point in Akzo coming back with a higher offer unless it has a chance of success.. and as ICI and big institutional investors are looking for 675 circa then i doubt Akzo will waste it's time bidding at anything but 675.. it's just a matter of days IMHO before this will be confirmed, the low volume today and Friday confirms the 'watch and wait' approach being adopted.. i would still not totally rule out BASF or DOW entering the fray after Akzo has pitched it's top level.. only time will tell..

[sruk77] 25/6/2007 16:14

Gemini, calm before the storm perhaps?

* 'Akzo may up ICI bid' *

Akzo Nobel is looking for bank and investor support to bring out a higher bid for UK chemicals group ICI, sources have told the Financieele Dagblad.

The paper reports on Monday that CEO Hans Wijers held talks with UK and US investors last week in an effort to increase his room for manoeuvre. Akzo Nobel's offer of £6 a share has been rejected as being far too low.

The British media reported at the weekend that Akzo is prepared to pay £6.50 for ICI but that UK firm is prepared to accept £6.75, valuing the company at around €12bn:

[sruk77] 25/6/2007 15:49

Takeover offer for ICI chiefs.

Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel will offer top jobs to senior ICI executives if its takeover bid for what was once regarded as the 'bellwether of British industry' is successful, advisers told Financial Mail.

Akzo's sighting shot of 600p a share was immediately rejected last week by resurgent ICI, whose chief executive John McAdam outlined plans that suggested he believed that 650p or more realistically reflected his group's prospects.

[sruk77] 25/6/2007 11:36

Asked whether Akzo Nobel is still interested in buying ICI, the spokesman said that "we have shown our interest by approaching them, so that much is obvious. As we have said before: as to what happens next, we do not rule out anything at this point."

Citigroup goes to hold from buy, but hoiks its price target to up 650p from 550p. Broker adds: 'We believe ICI has a high probability of being taken over. However, the further upside we envisage is less than is consistent with a 'buy' rating, hence the downgrade.'

650p before the end of this week?

[rcoates96] 25/6/2007 07:08

Maybe more, but as a big long, I try to manage my expectations!

[rcoates96] 25/6/2007 07:08

And here, from Thomson

Imperial Chemical In Akzo Nobel in talks with investors about higher offer for ICI


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel NV has been in
talks with its shareholders about launching a potential higher offer for UK
rival Imperial Chemical Industries PLC, according to reports.
Akzo held talks with Brandes, its largest shareholder, and other major
shareholders last week about the possibility of making a bigger offer for ICI,
which rejected the Dutch group's 7.2 bln stg, or 600 pence per share, approach
on June 18, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
The shareholders are understood to support the principle of a higher bid,
but are concerned that Akzo may overpay, the newspaper said.
Some of the biggest shareholders in ICI have indicated they would support a
bid of about 675 pence per share, according to a separate report in The Sunday
Times.
One unidentified investor told the newspaper that they would recommend an
offer of between 660-670 pence.
"We can see the obvious synergies this deal would bring and that it makes
sense," the investor was quoted as saying.

Let's see how it opens. I can see £6.45 today, but not much more until this newsflow becomes more concrete.

[sagem] 25/6/2007 05:37

F.T 25TH JUNE :-

ICI's future as an independent company seems to hang on how much Akzo Nobel, the Dutch chemicals group, is willing to pay.

Its 600p a share bid, valuing the UK group at £7.2bn, has been rejected with some ICI investors looking for a figure above 700p.

Akzo Nobel is cash-rich and wants to strengthen its paints business but its shareholders are wary of its being sucked into overpaying. ICI, whose shares on Friday closed at 624p, has also sought to emphasise its ability to grow organically.
..............................................................................

me thinks ici will be taken out at £7.10p which is a fair price.

[whatwoman] 22/6/2007 15:02

Howls

Thanks for that market-insider bit of info. Citigroup makes it clear that they have downgraded ICI from a buy to a hold because the share price has risen considerably, and so cannot encourage others to buy at these prices as the upside is limited. They do believe that ICI will be taken over.

I will ignore all this because I believe a higher offer will come either from Akzo or another party and eventually ICI will be bought for £6.75-£7.00.

Fat Controller
That info about ICI being the bidder is interesting, but I don't think it will do ICI's share price much good. Well, not in the short term anyway.

Best wishes to all.

[thefatcontroller0] 22/6/2007 09:57

What about a reverse bid ?



Is that not exciting?

or talk of a potential poison pill?

[whatwoman] 21/6/2007 14:20

Hello Peter119,

Seems that I increased my holding prematurely. This sort of thing happens so frequently that I actually get surprised when I get my timing right. Have bought a little more today to add to my spreadbet holding. Just watch it fall some more.

In any bid situation this process of share price going up and then falling back when MM's find a lack of buyers is usual. I got greedy and added yesterday thinking a second bidder might show their hand sooner than usual. Patience is indeed necessary to see this to the end.
If you were satisfied with your profit on ICI then you were right to sell them.

I have sold all my NWG holding at 343 a little while back.

Bye for now and all the best.

[peter119] 21/6/2007 11:23

"gbchak"
agree with your comment 100%,only reason i pulled was excellent growth on investment and to reduce exposure from stock mkt.good luck to all,

[gbchak] 21/6/2007 11:15

howls i tend to agree with you..

i cannot imagaine Akzo being the only bidder.. as it stands they will be getting a prize purchase for around 630 if they comeback and raise their bid..

However, they must also consider that bidding around this level could well leave the door open for another predator to march in and steal ICI, with Dow Chemical being the most likely candidate..

ICI's management will not relinquish control for less than 675-700 IMHO.. it is also interesting to note that none of the other potential suitors have ruled themselves out of the frames as yet..

i strongly believe patience is required here..

[peter119] 21/6/2007 11:12

"whatawoman"
any comments "today"?
also would like to here comments on norhh water,will be buying but would like to be in at 2.95-3.00 before 01.08.07 so collect 7p divi