Imperial Chemical Industries

Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British <a href="/facts/Chemical_industry/3M6gfHer">chemical</a> company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at <a href="/facts/Millbank/d1nMW3sI">Millbank</a> in <a href="/facts/London/KozCCsy9">London</a>. ICI was a constituent of the <a href="/facts/FT_30/90vbQK4B">FT 30</a> and later the <a href="/facts/FTSE_100_Index/spHl9KWk">FTSE 100</a> indices.
ICI was formed in 1926 as a result of the <a href="/facts/Merger/YfczSf3M">merger</a> of four of Britain's leading chemical companies. From the onset, it was involved in the production of various chemicals, explosives, <a href="/facts/Fertiliser/ysh3r6NJ">fertilisers</a>, <a href="/facts/Insecticide/1xYL3MSD">insecticides</a>, <a href="/facts/Dyestuff/a1NSlcsG">dyestuffs</a>, <a href="/facts/Non-ferrous/lY7X8rAY">non-ferrous</a> metals, and paints; the firm soon become involved in <a href="/facts/Plastic/Kla5QItn">plastics</a> and a variety of speciality products, including food ingredients, <a href="/facts/Polymer/eF32E50K">polymers</a>, electronic materials, fragrances and flavourings. During the <a href="/facts/Second_World_War/2efV5L1U">Second World War</a>, ICI's subsidiary <a href="/facts/Nobel_Enterprises/M0zHRDbk">ICI Nobel</a> produced munitions for Britain's war effort; the wider company was also involved with Britain's <a href="/facts/Nuclear_weapon/QVdBcMdm">nuclear weapons</a> programme codenamed <a href="/facts/Tube_Alloys/SEvxMHJ5">Tube Alloys</a>. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, ICI greatly expanded its activities in the <a href="/facts/Pharmaceutic/ms5hhrMv">pharmaceutic</a> sector; cumulating in the formation of a dedicated subsidiary, ICI Pharmaceuticals, in 1957.
During 1960, ICI's first outsider to serve as chairman, <a href="/facts/Paul_Chambers_(industrialist)/KLz2c027">Paul Chambers</a>, was appointed. Chambers reorganised the company, but fell out of favour following an unsuccessful takeover bid of rival firm <a href="/facts/Courtaulds/27HWYXp1">Courtaulds</a>. Between 1968 and 1971, Peter Allen was chairman of ICI, during which time <a href="/facts/Viyella/5c5qIW4t">Viyella</a> was purchased, the subsidiary <a href="/facts/Cleveland_Potash_Ltd/7DHzr1xu">Cleveland Potash Ltd</a> was created, and profits dipped. Major moves in the 1970s included the acquisition of the American competitor Atlas Chemical Industries Inc. and the divestment of <a href="/facts/Imperial_Metal_Industries/9kjk5avm">Imperial Metal Industries</a>. By the late 1980s, ICI which had continued to acquire entities such as the Beatrice Chemical Division and Glidden Coatings & Resins, increasing competition and rising internal complexity were driving ICI towards major restructuring plans, including a <a href="/facts/Demerger/286naYy0">demerger</a>.
Considerable changes at ICI came about during the 1990s, particularly in the aftermath of an unsuccessful acquisition attempt in 1991 by <a href="/facts/Heidelberg_Materials_UK/JpehhYVU">Hanson</a> of the firm in what would have been the biggest takeover in British history. That same year, ICI sold its agricultural and merchandising operations of BritAg and Scottish Agricultural Industries to <a href="/facts/Norsk_Hydro/ApJX3Puo">Norsk Hydro</a>; it sold its <a href="/facts/Nylon/hBvG9bCw">nylon</a> business to <a href="/facts/DuPont/kCUfkJzE">DuPont</a> one year later. In 1993, the firm also de-merged its pharmaceutical bio-science businesses as <a href="/facts/Zeneca/ALbJfFz4">Zeneca</a>. During 1997, ICI's Australian subsidiary, <a href="/facts/Orica/SglAWvH0">ICI Australia</a>, was sold in exchange for £1 billion. During 2008, ICI was acquired by <a href="/facts/AkzoNobel/BMMU7GMQ">AkzoNobel</a> for £8 billion; shortly thereafter, portions of ICI were sold off to <a href="/facts/Henkel/tunEcSLK">Henkel</a> while its remaining operations were integrated within AkzoNobel's existing organisation.

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Imperial Chemical Industries