AkzoNobel rejects joint Nippon and Sherwin-Williams proposal
AkzoNobel has rejected a joint takeover proposal from Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams.
Japanese company Nippon Paint and US-based Sherwin-Williams tabled a £10.8bn offer at the end of April but AkzoNobel has said the offer undervalued the company.
Instead, it plans to continue with its proposed merger with Axalta. The deal, announced on 18 November, would create a global coatings company valued at £19bn with 173 manufacturing sites and 91 R&D facilities, 4,200 research fellows, scientists and engineers, and about 3,200 granted and pending patent applications.
It would also result in cost synergies of £456m, primarily from procurement, selling, general and administrative efficiencies, footprint optimisation and improved supply chain management.
Superior Proposal
An AkzoNobel statement said: “The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board carefully reviewed and considered the proposal in line with their fiduciary duties. The Boards concluded that the proposal did not qualify as a Superior Proposal.
“The Boards considered that the indicative offer price did not come close to adequately reflecting the value of AkzoNobel and its long-term prospects, taking into account the benefits of the recommended merger with Axalta; that the proposal provided insufficient deal certainty in relation to regulatory clearances and the separation of the business between Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams; and that the interests of AkzoNobel stakeholders were not adequately safeguarded.
“Both AkzoNobel Boards unanimously continue to recommend the merger of equals between AkzoNobel and Axalta.”
Nippon Paints and Sherwin-Williams have said they are ‘considering their next steps, if any.’
