Philadelphia-based Axalta Coating Systems has agreed to an all-stock merger with Amsterdam’s AkzoNobel, forming a trans-Atlantic paint company valued at about $17 billion, writes Adrià Calatayud for The Wall Street Journal.
The two paint makers that were founded in the 18th and 19th centuries respectively, first explored a potential merger in 2017, though the deal did not go through.
After the merger, Akzo shareholders will hold 55 percent of the expanded group, with Axalta shareholders retaining 45 percent. The Philadelphia-based company is currently valued at $6 billion, while the Netherlands-based firm is valued at 9.7 billion euros, equivalent to $11.24 billion. Expected cost synergies from the merger are estimated to be around $600 million.
Axalta focuses on industrial and automotive coatings. The company, formerly DuPont’s paint unit, was acquired by Carlyle in 2013 and went public in 2014. After merger talks with Akzo in 2017 failed, Axalta received an acquisition offer from Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings, which also did not go through.
The deal, framed as a merger of equals, provides Axalta shareholders with 0.6539 shares of Akzo stock for each share of Axalta in their possession.
The companies expect the deal to close in late 2026 or early 2027.
Read more about the merger between Axalta and AkzoNobel in The Wall Street Journal.
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