The City had been expecting the chemicals giant's confirmation that it would be hiving off its pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals businesses to a new company, Zeneca.

Pennwalt worked out a deal to be acquired for almost $1.1 billion by Elf Aquitaine, the French oil and chemicals giant.

At the end of January, Mr. Gardini announced a complex plan to restructure his holdings and complete Ferruzzi's absorption of Montedison S.p.A., the chemicals giant that he took over last year.

The companies were expected to include the banking company Credit Lyonnais and Rhone-Poulenc, France's chemicals giant.

ICI, the chemicals giant, is paying $193million (£120million) to buy an American explosives manufacturer.

Away from the politics, dealers in ICI were humming first thing with the story that the chemicals giant is poised to sell its fibres division to America's Du Pont for £300m.

Now, one-third and more of the equity of large industrial groups like France's largest oil company, Elf Aquitaine, and Rhone-Poulenc, the chemicals giant, are owned by foreign investment funds.

Hoechst A.G., the chemicals giant, has reached an agreement to merge its pharmaceutical and agricultural businesses with those of Rhone-Poulenc of France.

One German stock he has been buying recently is Bayer A.G., the pharmaceutical and chemicals giant.

Raul Gardini, the head of the agricultural conglomerate Ferruzzi, took Italy's financial community by surprise today with his announcement that he had purchased a big slice of Montedison, the Swiss chemicals giant.