The announcement two weeks ago by British chemical producer ICI that it is "considering" splitting itself in two was unexpected in its timing (C&EN, Aug. 3, page 15). But such a proposal did not come as a surprise. The door was opened at least five years ago, when ICI organized its chemicals and plastics operations into a separate unit. More recent reorganizations continued to emphasize the company's attempts to define the different types of businesses it is in—types that ultimately have been clarified as biosciences and basic chemicals. Stock market analysts agree that a wide variety of problems surround ICI's proposed move. It would be the largest such splitup in the global chemical industry: ICI's $22.1 billion in sales far outweighs the combined $7.4 billion of Union Carbide and its new offshoot Praxair, for example. Nonetheless, analysts firmly expect ICI to put the proposal into effect in early 1993, with the division taking place, for ...