National Starch sale unlikely in current climate

Hopes for National Starch to be sold by the end of the year have been dashed by the credit crisis and a sale is unlikely in the near future, said owner Akzo Nobel. 

Akzo made clear its intention to seek a new owner for the specialty starches business after it became the owner of National Starch and Chemical Company as part of its acquisition of ICI in January. 

However, a spokesman for the company told FoodNavigator-USA.com: “It’s still for sale but we don’t see any deal soon because of the credit crisis. 

“We have a couple of interested buyers. But all these buyers have financing problems.”

He said the buyers remained interested, but “they also depend on all kinds of financial instruments”. 

Meanwhile, Akzo would rather hold on to the business and try and get a “fair price”, which it said is unlikely in the current economic climate.

The spokesman added: “We will sell it when the time is right. In the meantime we are happy to own it. It is profitable and it is serving a stable sector.”