Nippon Paint Holdings has made an offer of $8.6 billion (€7.5 billion) to acquire AkzoNobel's decorative paints business. This move comes after Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams previously had a joint $14.5 billion (€12.5 billion) all-cash bid for the entire Dutch paint maker rejected by AkzoNobel due to regulatory concerns and a belief it undervalued the company. AkzoNobel management reportedly did not engage with Nippon Paint's latest offer for the decorative paints unit, nor did they communicate it to shareholders.
The timing of Nippon Paint's offer is strategic, as it attempts to "gatecrash" AkzoNobel's existing agreement to merge with Axalta Coating Systems, which was announced in November. That deal would create a paint maker with an enterprise value of approximately $25 billion, with AkzoNobel owning 55% of the combined entity and moving its stock market listing from Amsterdam to New York. Shareholder meetings for the AkzoNobel-Axalta merger are scheduled for August 5.
AkzoNobel had previously stated that Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams' joint bid for the entire company lacked regulatory certainty and would split the company between two suitors. The latest offer for just the decorative paints unit values it at about 12 times its 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. If successful, this acquisition would reunify the Dulux brand globally and strengthen Nippon Paint's presence in Europe, where the unit derives almost two-thirds of its revenue. Nippon Paint has indicated it is interested in the entirety of the decorative paints unit, not just the South East Asian segment that AkzoNobel had previously considered selling.
