Akzo Nobel Agrees to Buy Imperial Chemical

|1521|, the paints and coatings maker based in Arnheim, the Netherlands, has agreed to buy Imperial Chemical Industries for $16 billion after raising its offer twice in two months. Shareholder approval is pending.

Akzo said that it expects to generate $382 million in savings from the takeover. Akzo plans to sell Imperial Chemical's American National Starch unit to the German consumer chemicals supplier Henkel.

The purchase of Imperial Chemical, which is Briotain's largest specialty-chemical maker, will help Akzo maintain its top postiion in the world's industrial coatings market, which is contested by PPG Industries (PIttsburgh), the parent company of Matthews Paint. It would also give Akzo businesses in Asia and America and help it profit from growing demand for coatings in Eastern Europe and Asia, according to the New York Times.