Akzo Nobel prepares to sell Acordis
15 Jan 2000
Akzo Nobel has accepted an E825million offer for Acordis, the former Courtaulds fibres businesses it acquired last year, from London-based investment house CVC Capital Partners. The Dutch firm had originally planned to spin-off Acordis as a separately-listed company, but now believes that the bid from CVC represents better sense for the business.
`We were preparing for an independent spin-off, that is true,' admits Acordis chief executive Folkert Blaisse. `But we have always left the door open for a potential buyer.' With the business still suffering from the effects of the Asian downturn - devastating for the fibres market, because of the concentration of the textiles industry in that region - Blaisse feels that Acordis is not ready for the stock market.
A change of ownership was therefore the best option, and CVC's bid was attractive. `They weren't scared off by the cyclical headwinds,' says Blaisse. CVC intends to keep Acordis on its current path, with the emphasis shifting to industrial applications and specialities; it is not planning any redundancies.
