Nippon Paint Holdings has made multiple offers for AkzoNobel's decorative paints business over the past month, with the latest proposal valuing the unit at €7.5 billion ($8.6 billion). This offer represents about 12 times the unit's 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. AkzoNobel's management has not engaged with Nippon Paint on these offers nor communicated them to shareholders.
This bid comes just a month after Nippon Paint, alongside Sherwin-Williams, withdrew an earlier €12.5 billion offer to acquire the entirety of AkzoNobel, which was rejected by the Dutch paint maker. AkzoNobel had stated that the joint bid undervalued its business, lacked regulatory certainty, and would split the company between two suitors.
AkzoNobel is instead pushing forward with its planned merger with U.S. coatings maker Axalta Coating Systems, announced last November. This merger 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 listing to New York. Shareholder meetings for the AkzoNobel-Axalta merger are scheduled for August 5. The deal still requires U.S. regulatory approval from the Federal Trade Commission.
Should Nippon Paint's current offer for the decorative paints unit succeed, it would reunify the Dulux brand globally and strengthen Nippon Paint's presence in Europe, as nearly two-thirds of the unit's revenue comes from the continent. Nippon Paint is focused on acquiring the entire decorative paints unit, not just a portion like the one AkzoNobel explored selling in Southeast Asia. This situation has driven paint makers towards mergers to achieve cost savings amid rising expenses, intense competition, and economic uncertainties.
