Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai
Mumbai, Feb 25: In a strategic realignment, AkzoNobel N V, Europe's largest paintmaker and owner of the Dulux brand, will acquire the powder coatings business and international research centre from its Indian subsidiary AkzoNobel India Ltd. for Rs 2,144 cr.
The deal includes a Rs 2,073 cr slump sale of the powder coatings segment and a Rs 70 cr transfer of the research centre to an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AkzoNobel N V, set to be incorporated in India.
Additionally, AkzoNobel India will acquire intellectual property (IP) rights from AkzoNobel Coatings International B V for its decorative paints business in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal for Rs 1,152 cr. This will allow the Indian arm full brand and technology independence for its decorative paints division.
“These transactions will help AkzoNobel India become a more focused liquid paints and coatings company, with complete control over its core decorative paints business,” the company said in a statement.
The move follows AkzoNobel’s strategic review of its India business, amid reports that the company might sell only its consumer-facing paints division for $1.5-1.7 billion, retaining its technically complex industrial coatings segment.
Meanwhile, industry giants Pidilite Industries, JSW Paints, and Indigo Paints have advanced to the second round of bidding for the Dulux paints business.
AkzoNobel is a major global player in industrial coatings, competing in India with Asian Paints-PPG Inc, Kansai Nerolac-ICRO Coatings, and Nippon Paints-IVM Chemicals. The company also holds high-profile contracts, including the recent painting of INS Vikrant for the Indian Navy.
The transaction is subject to approval by shareholders at AkzoNobel India and the supervisory board of AkzoNobel N V.