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ICI surges on Huntsman talks
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April 14, 1999: 6:29 a.m. ET
U.K. chemical giant's stock soars as U.S. firm nears asset purchase
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Shares in Imperial Chemical Industries surged 10 percent Wednesday amid speculation that it was close to selling its bulk chemicals business to Utah-based Huntsman.
ICI wants to exit the low-margin bulk business and focus on specialty products. An attempt to sell the business to DuPont (DD) was blocked by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in January but a deal could be sealed with Huntsman by the weekend, according to reports.
ICI's (ICI) value climbed almost 500 million pounds ($810 million) as the shares jumped more than 11 percent in early trading before slipping back to 650 pence, up 10.4 percent. The stock is still well shy of its 52-week high of 1,244 pence.
The sale to Huntsman of its bulk business could net ICI around 1.5 billion pounds, according to analysts, making only a small dent in the U.K. firm's 4.2 billion pound debt mountain.
Analysts warn that ICI's stock could slide after the financial details of any deal are announced. "The shares are up on the basis that it's better to travel than to arrive," Philip Morrish at Paribas told Reuters.
-- from staff and wire reports
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