Emulsional distress

22 November 2017 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

The Dutch paint maker is temporarily solo after talks with U.S. peer Axalta foundered. That combination, good on paper, was challenged by the two companies’ uneven size and likely job cuts. Even so, Akzo’s future if it’s determined to remain single is unappealing.

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Nippon Paint Holdings made an all-cash offer to buy U.S. rival Axalta Coating Systems, Reuters reported on Nov. 21, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Axalta and Dutch peer Akzo Nobel said earlier they had ended talks about a merger. Axalta, whose market capitalisation is about $8.3 billion, said this was because they could not reach “mutually agreeable terms”. It also said it would keep pursuing "value-creating alternatives".

Akzo Nobel’s shares were trading at 79.14 euros at 0835 GMT on Nov. 22, 1.5 percent above the previous day’s close.

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