AkzoNobel to divest National Starch business for $1.3bn

22-Jun-2010 - Netherlands

Akzo Nobel N.V. announced the sale of its National starch business to Corn Products International. The company will receive $1.3bn in cash and the buyer will assume certain pension and employee benefit liabilities. The transaction, which has been approved by the Boards of both AkzoNobel and Corn Products International, is expected to close at the end of the third quarter of 2010, subject to the appropriate regulatory approvals. Corn Products International is a global provider of ingredient solutions for diversified industries based in Westchester, Illinois, in the US.

National Starch - a subsidiary of the former ICI - was taken over by AkzoNobel as part of its acquisition of ICI in January 2008. While it was regarded as an excellent business, the Board of AkzoNobel concluded that National Starch did not offer sufficient opportunity to create value within the company's transformed coatings and specialty chemicals portfolio. In April 2010, it was announced that AkzoNobel had received renewed expressions of interest in National Starch, which had accordingly been reclassified as a discontinued operation.

Commenting on the divestment, CEO Hans Wijers said: "I am pleased that we have found a respected company to be the new home of National Starch, where it will once again be a core operation. This transaction today marks the strong focus on our core business and confirms AkzoNobel's transformation into the world's largest global coatings and specialty chemicals company. "We can look to the future with much confidence as we are well positioned to capture growth both organically and by selected acquisitions."

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/119200/akzonobel-to-divest-national-starch-business-for-1-3bn.html