Imperial Chemical Industries
corporate · United Kingdom
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemicals and paints conglomerate, for decades the largest manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Under chairman Sir John Harvey-Jones, ICI acquired the Glidden Coatings & Resins division from Hanson Trust in 1986 for $580 million, bringing Glidden's Macco Adhesives subsidiary and its Liquid Nails brand into ICI's portfolio alongside Dulux and other paint lines. ICI owned the business until it was itself acquired by AkzoNobel in a ~$16.2 billion deal that closed in January 2008, at which point ICI ceased to exist as an independent company.