CLEVELAND - ICI Paints' North American Division announced an agreement to acquire the architectural-paint stores operating under the Hancock name in the Boston area. The stores were previously owned by the Hancock Inc. subsidiary of Sico Inc., based in Quebec City, Quebec.

Sico President and CEO Pierre Brodeur said the Hancock business, acquired by Sico in 1994, "no longer fits in the corporate strategy we have been pursuing" since 2000.