AkzoNobel, the leading global producer of paints and coatings, said on Thursday it is in discussions with BASF to acquire BASF’s industrial coatings business.
“The strategy of AkzoNobel of driving operational excellence and organic growth includes the possibility to pursue value generating, bolt-on acquisitions,” the company said. No further information will be made available at this stage. AkzoNobel’s industrial coatings business had sales of around €780 million ($884 million), or 14% of the company’s performance coatings sales of €5.59 billion in 2014.
BASF confirmed that it is in discussions with AkzoNobel on the potential sale, but also declined to give further information. BASF is relatively small in industrial coatings. Its main coatings sectors are automotive and consumer. Industrial coatings are lumped under others, which in 2014 had sales of about €240 million, or 8% of coatings sales of €2.98 billion. BASF says its main competitors in industrial coatings are AkzoNobel and PPG.
BASF’s industrial coatings are produced at Münster and Oldenburg, Germany. The company offers systems for coating industrial products such as Coiltec, a universal non-chromate coil coating primer and foil coatings, applied to paper and plastic substrates. For the final finish of manufactured products, BASF’s industrial coatings portfolio comprises e-coats, spray and dip coatings, which are used for industrial buildings, radiator components, household appliances and wind turbines.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
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