New York/Frankfurt, Nov 12 - Henkel said on Monday it would sell its almost 30 percent stake in Ecolab to help finance the acquisition of adhesives and electronics materials business National Starch, sending Ecolab shares down 8.7 percent in early trading.
Henkel, a German consumer goods group, said it had struck a deal with Ecolab, a provider of cleaning supplies and services, to sell the stake in the open market. It said Ecolab would buy at least $300 million of the shares.
Henkel's 72.7 million Ecolab shares were worth $2.42 billion at Monday's prices. The shares were down $3.18, or 8.7 percent, at $33.39 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Henkel, whose brands include Pritt, Schwarzkopf and Loctite, said in February it would sell its stake in Ecolab to finance the 4 billion euro ($5.2 billion) buy of National Starch, a division of ICI, now part of Dutch chemicals maker Akzo Nobel NV .
Henkel has held a stake in Ecolab since 1989.
St. Paul, Minnesota-based Ecolab said it expects 2009 earnings, excluding one-time items but including the $300 million share repurchase, of $1.95 to $2.05 per share. Before the news of the share repurchase, analysts' average forecast was $2.04. ($1=.7754 Euro)