AkzoNobel sells Southeast Asian paints business to Nippon Paint for $1.35bn

AkzoNobel said on Monday it has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian decorative paints business to Nippon Paint for $1.35 billion, completing a review of its Asian decorative paints portfolio.

The sale covers decorative paints operations in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia, the Dutch paints maker said, adding that it expects net cash proceeds of about $1 billion after tax and payments to minority partners.

“The successful completion of our Asia portfolio review is part of an ongoing strategy to focus our portfolio on areas where we can achieve differentiating scale and strengthen our position,” chief executive Greg Poux-Guillaume said in a statement.

The Indonesia deal is expected to close separately in late 2026, while the remaining transactions are expected to close around mid-2027. AkzoNobel said it will now focus on the successful closing of its merger with US coatings maker Axalta, which was announced in November last year.

The Dulux paint maker had earlier divested its decorative paints operations in India and Pakistan for $1.6 billion and 50 million euros respectively.

The Financial Times, which first reported the Southeast Asia deal, said Nippon Paint had submitted multiple proposals in July to acquire AkzoNobel’s decorative paints business, valuing it at about 7.5 billion euros. That approach followed the withdrawal of a 12.5 billion euro bid for the entire company that Nippon Paint had pursued jointly with US-based paint maker Sherwin-Williams in June.

Sources

• Reuters — AkzoNobel to sell Southeast Asia paints business to Nippon Paint for $1.35 billion (via Straits Times): https://www.straitstimes.com/business/akzonobel-to-sell-south-east-asia-paints-business-to-nippon-paint-for-us1-35-billion
• The Hindu BusinessLine — Nippon Paint to acquire AkzoNobel’s Southeast Asian decorative paints business: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/nippon-paint-to-acquire-akzonobels-southeast-asian-decorative-paints-business-for-135-billion/article71545665.ece
• Business Standard — AkzoNobel to sell Southeast Asia business to Nippon Paint for $1.35 billion: https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/akzonobel-to-sell-southeast-asia-business-to-nippon-paint-for-1-35-billion-126100500074_1.html
• dpa-AFX via TradingView — AkzoNobel To Sell Southeast Asia Decorative Paints Business To Nippon Paint In $1.35 Bln Deal: https://www.tradingview.com/news/dpa_afx:506a9252c6df8:0-akzonobel-to-sell-southeast-asia-decorative-paints-business-to-nippon-paint-in-1-35-bln-deal/