Melbourne, June 23: Britain's Imperial Chemical Industries Plc on Monday put about 52 per cent of its Australian subsidiary on the auction block in a global offering it hopes will raise around A$2 billion (US$1.5 billion).

ICI Plc, which is selling out of ICI Australia Ltd to help finance a major expansion, said the offer would be aimed at Australian retail investors and institutions worldwide.

Before embarking on a roadshow of US, European and Asian financial capitals, ICI Plc and ICI Australia executives launched the offer at a news conference in Melbourne.

"This sets in train the future of the new ICI Australia," ICI Australia chairman Ben Lochtenberg said.

The offer will allow ICI Australia to go forward as "a strong, independent Australian company", he added.

But even as ICI Plc and ICI Australia executives prepared to drum up interest from institutional investors in the offer, the parent said it was open to a single bid for the entire stake.

"If the global offer does not proceed because someone makes an offer which takes over from the global offer then a new situation would develop and we would evaluate that," ICI Plc's group strategic planning manager, Robert Milligan, said.

ICI Plc owns a total 62.4-per cent of ICI Australia, a stake worth over A$2.3 billion at the subsidiary's current share price.

ICI Australia plans to buy back 30 million, or about 10 per cent, of its own shares from ICI Plc. The remaining 52 per cent stake that ICI Plc owns is to be sold in the offer, with the majority offered to Australian investors.

The retail offer opens on Wednesday and the global institutional offer next Tuesday, with the final offer price announced on July 12.

ICI Plc is selling out of ICI Australia to help finance the purchase of Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever's speciality chemicals business for US$8 billion in cash.

Since announcing the sale, speculation has persisted that investors in the offer will be gazumped by a major chemicals company willing to pay a premium for the entire stake.

The speculation is said to have fuelled a strong rally in ICI Australia's share price, which has risen strongly since the sale announcement on May 7.

ICI Australia's share price hit a day's high of A$12.65 in thin trading on Monday afternoon, but settled back to A$12.58, up 18 cents on Friday's close.

"It's possible there's still some speculation that some other company is going to come in and make another bid," a Melbourne-based chemical-industry analyst told Reuters.The analyst said he felt the British group would be happy to achieve a price of A$12 per share from institutions.

"There has to be something in it for them to be interested...," he said.

ICI Australia shareholders vote on Wednesday on the proposed buyback, on which it plans to spend a maximum of A$360 million.

The buyback price has been set at A$11.96 per share, unless the final offer price comes in below this. Retail investors in the offer will pay a 40-cent discount to the final offer price, and no more than A$12.40.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.