Engelhard, Sud-Chemie, JM may bid for ICI's Synetix. (Europe/Mideast).(Johnson Matthey)(Brief Article)

Chemical Week, March, 2002 by Morrison, Scott

Engelhard, Sud-Chemie, and Johnson Matthey are the likely bidders for Synetix, the catalyst business of ICI, analysts say. ICI has put Synetix on the block to help fund debt repayments (CW, Feb. 6, p. 9). Analysts estimate the sale will generate proceeds of about [pounds sterling]200 million ($284 million). Synetix supplies markets including pharmaceuticals, coatings, and food ingredients, and it has sales of about $175 million/year, says Banc of America Securities (New York) analyst Mark Gulley.

"Engelhard is a logical buyer," says Gulley, and such a deal "would make a lot of sense at the right place." Engelhard has given higher priority to considering acquisition opportunities of various sizes, as long as a purchase would make a positive contribution to its...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.