ICI's Indian deal blocked

ICI's Indian deal blocked

BOMBAY (AFP): India's largest paint company said here
yesterday it was determined to stop Britain's ICI buying "even a
single share" in the firm.

"Under no circumstances will we allow ICI (Imperial Chemical
Industries) to have even a single share of our company," Asian
Paints India Ltd vice-chairman Ashwin Dani told AFP.

The two companies are locked in a legal battle after the
multinational bought out one of the four founding partners of
Asian Paints, taking control of 9.1 percent of the company's
shares.

ICI paid 1.28 billion rupees (US$35 million) for the stake
last month. The deal, however, has still to be approved by
India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

FIPB has told ICI it will have to prove Asian Paints's board
of directors backed the purchase.

Asian Paints, however, has said it would never approve the
deal while Indian Industry Minister Murasoli Maran described ICI
as an unwelcome "corporate raider".