Brussels clears ICI sale

Brussels clears ICI sale

The European Commission has cleared the purchase by US chemicals giant DuPont of half of ICI's bulk chemical operations. The Commission said the move to buy ICI's polyester and titanium dioxide businesses did not threaten fair competition in the relevant markets. ICI announced the $3bn sale in July as part of a move away from bulk chemicals and into the higher- margin speciality chemicals sector. The Commission said its decision was based on an analysis of the markets for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, used for packaging and other applications, and titanium dioxide, used to white and brighten coatings, plastics and other products.