Nippon Paint makes AU$3.76bn offer to acquire Dulux Group

Japanese paint manufacturer Nippon Paint has made a ¥300bn (AU$3.76bn) offer to acquire Dulux Group, the largest paint manufacturer in the ANZ market.

The offer, which Dulux’s board has unanimously recommended for its shareholders to accept, values each share at AU$9.65 and represents a 27.8% premium to Dulux’s closing share price on 16 April 2019.

In its press release acknowledging the offer, Dulux said that the two firms have “complementary geographic market exposures” and added that its leadership, portfolio, manufacturing and operations will remain unchanged by the acquisition as “Nippon has essentially no ANZ operations”.

Dulux also noted that the acquisition would represent an opportunity for the firm to pursue its own expansion strategy, empowered by access to Nippon Paint’s scale and resources.

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“We are proud of the successes we have achieved as an independent company since listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2010 following our demerger from Orica Limited. The proposed transaction is an endorsement of the exceptional company that our people have built over a number of years,” said Patrick Houlihan, Dulux Group’s Managing Director and CEO, in the firm’s statement.

“Nippon is a global leader in the paints and coatings sector and we are confident that Nippon will continue to support the ongoing success of DuluxGroup’s businesses and brands, and that this will create significant opportunities for our staff, customers and strategic partners. 

“I am personally excited by the opportunities that we can explore together as we continue to grow all of our ANZ businesses and accelerate our growth ambitions offshore.”