Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel NV is considering a merger of equals with US rival Axalta Coating Systems Ltd, a deal that would combine two companies with a market value of about US$30 billion.
The Amsterdam-based company is “currently in constructive discussions” regarding a merger with Axalta, the world’s largest maker of auto refinish paints, Akzo Nobel said in a statement yesterday.
A deal would create a leading global paints and coatings company, it said.
The separation of Akzo’s Specialty Chemicals business, including the return of the vast majority of net proceeds to shareholders, remains on track for April next year and is unaffected by the merger discussions, Akzo Nobel said.
Akzo Nobel is looking to pay close to no premium in any deal, a person familiar with the matter said over the weekend.
Axalta, of which Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is the largest shareholder, on Friday soared 17 percent in New York after Reuters first reported the talks, valuing the company at about US$8.1 billion.
The Dutch competitor, led by chief executive Thierry Vanlancker, has a market value of almost 20 billion euros (US$23.3 billion) after shares climbed 30 percent this year.
Akzo Nobel has come under shareholder pressure this year after rebuffing an unsolicited US$29 billion buyout offer from rival PPG Industries Inc and battling activist investor Elliott Management Corp.
PPG can renew its bid for Akzo Nobel in December under Dutch takeover rules. The Dutch paintmaker, which plans to separate its chemical division to tighten its focus on coatings, abandoned a target last month for this year’s profit growth after third-quarter earnings missed estimates.
“The timing suggests the Akzo Nobel board wants to block off any possibility of losing its independence,” Jefferies LLC analyst Laurence Alexander said in a note.
Meanwhile, Axalta has posted two straight quarters of profit declines amid rising costs for paint ingredients.
The company, formerly a unit of DuPont, would complement Akzo’s product lines, Seaport Global Securities analyst Michael Harrison said in a note.
Axalta could sell for US$40 a share, based on the 15-times earnings multiple paid by Sherwin-Williams Co for Valspar Corp earlier this year, he said.
A tie-up between Axalta and Akzo is “logical” given the rapidly consolidating coatings industry, Robert W. Baird & Co analyst Ghansham Panjabi said in a note.
He said he saw Axalta potentially selling for more than US$40 a share, noting that it is the last medium-sized asset left in the industry.
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