Nippon Paint Holdings has made an $8.6 billion (€7.5 billion) offer to purchase AkzoNobel's decorative paints unit. This represents AkzoNobel's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization by approximately 12 times. This bid comes after Nippon Paint's previous joint all-cash offer with Sherwin-Williams for the entirety of AkzoNobel, valued at $14.5 billion (€12.5 billion), was rejected in May 2026. AkzoNobel's management did not engage with Nippon Paint on this latest offer nor did they communicate it to shareholders.
AkzoNobel has instead opted to proceed with its 2025 agreement to merge with Axalta Coating Systems, a deal that would create a paint manufacturer with an enterprise value of around $25 billion. AkzoNobel would hold a 55% stake in the combined entity and move its stock market listing from Amsterdam to New York. The merger still requires regulatory approval from the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S., which has requested additional information from both companies. Shareholder meetings for the merger are scheduled for August 5.
Nippon Paint's individual offer aims to reunify the Dulux brand globally and strengthen the company's presence in Europe, as nearly two-thirds of the decorative paint unit's revenue originates from the continent. Despite Nippon Paint's focus on acquiring the entire unit, AkzoNobel had previously stated an interest in selling parts of its decorative paints unit in Southeast Asia. This current offer also follows a history where Nippon Paint derailed merger talks between Axalta and AkzoNobel in 2017, and AkzoNobel rebuffed a $29 billion buyout offer from PPG Industries in the same year. Following the news, Nippon Paint shares experienced an intraday decline of up to 3.4%.
