AKZO NOBEL DECORATIVE PAINTS SOUTH EAST ASIA acquired by NIPPON PAINT HOLDING

Structured as a definitive carve-out acquisition signed in October 2026, Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. entered into binding share purchase agreements to acquire the Southeast Asian and Australasian decorative paints business of Akzo Nobel N.V. from the Dutch coatings group. The perimeter covers operational subsidiaries across Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, while Akzo Nobel N.V. retains full ownership of its performance coatings activities and internal shared services. The transaction reflects an EV/EBITDA multiple of 15.9x. Within the financial projections for 2026, the acquired operations target annual sales of alongside an adjusted EBITDA of $85M, delivering an EBITDA margin of 25.8%. Under executive leadership led by co-presidents Yuichiro Wakatsuki and Wee Siew Kim, Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. funds the acquisition exclusively through available balance-sheet liquidity and committed bank facilities, avoiding external equity issuance. The strategic rationale articulated by Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. focuses on expanding trade counter distribution density throughout high-growth ASEAN markets and consolidating regional brand rights surrounding the Dulux portfolio. Akzo Nobel N.V., led by chief executive officer Grégoire Poux-Guillaume, executes this divestiture to conclude its Asian decorative paints portfolio review, expecting net cash proceeds of approximately $1 billion to reallocate capital toward its pending industrial merger with Axalta Coating Systems. Completion remains subject to customary regulatory approvals, with the Indonesian business scheduled to close in late 2026 and the remaining six national jurisdictions targeted for completion in mid-2027.

As a reminder, Akzo Nobel Decorative Paints South East Asia had previously acquired Axalta Coating Systems in 2025 as part of its expansion strategy.