The merger between paint manufacturer AkzoNobel and American competitor Axalta is not yet a done deal. At the end of April, Nippon Paint from Japan made an offer to acquire AkzoNobel. AkzoNobel has rejected the offer, because the group believes that the merger with Axalta will deliver more value for its own shareholders.

As a result of the merger, AkzoNobel will disappear from the Amsterdam stock exchange, but the new company will keep one of its two head offices in the Netherlands. A takeover by Nippon would place all consumer and industrial paint brands under the new Japanese owner. The paint and coating for cars and boats are then sold to the American Sherwin-Williams.

AkzoNobel shareholders would receive immediate money for their shares. Upon the merger with Axalta, they will become shareholders of the new group. Yet AkzoNobel says that the offer of 73 euros per share that Nippon Paint has offered does not come close to the value that the merger with Axalta will deliver.

This morning, AkzoNobel shares on the Amsterdam stock exchange were worth about 52 euros each. Still, the company advises shareholders to opt for the “merger of equals” with Axalta. Shareholders must still approve the offer. This is planned for an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to take place this summer. A date for this has not yet been scheduled.

AkzoNobel informed NOS that Nippon Paint’s offer is only now being announced because the group must submit all documents to the American regulator for the merger with Axalta. “We are being proactive in our communications to ensure that the Nippon and Sherwin-Williams offer is not buried in a large document,” a spokesperson said.

In the rejection to Nippon Point, AkzoNobel says it has taken all interests into account, including those of shareholders. The spokesperson points to major shareholder Cevian, which has a seat on the supervisory board. This activist shareholder demands that AkzoNobel returns more on the stock exchange. “The supervisory board and board of directors have unanimously concluded that the proposal did not qualify as a superior proposal,” emphasizes the AkzoNobel spokesperson.