Akzo Nobel-Axalta merger is a hostage to history

St Dupont SA

08/11/2017 14:29

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions 
expressed are his own.) 
    By John Foley 
    LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A proposed blend of 
the two paint makers could produce colourful cost savings. That 
must mean job losses - and Akzo is the less efficient. Yet the 
$23 bln Dutch group deflected a bid from PPG saying cuts were a 
no-go. It's hard to see how it could do the requisite U-turn 
now. 
     
    Full view will be published shortly. 
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/johnsfoley 
     
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    - Akzo Nobel, the Dutch maker of Dulux paint, confirmed on 
Oct. 30 that it was in "constructive discussions" about a 
"merger of equals" with U.S. rival Axalta Coating Systems. 
    - Axalta was originally part of DuPont, the chemicals group 
that merged with Dow Chemical in September. It was sold to 
private equity investor Carlyle in February 2013 for $4.9 
billion, and subsequently listed in New York in November 2014. 
    - Akzo in June deflected a takeover approach from U.S. rival 
PPG that was strongly supported by investor Elliott Advisors. 
The company is now planning to split into two businesses: one 
making paint and coatings, the other speciality chemicals. 
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can 
click on  FOLEY/  
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    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
New Akzo Nobel boss pursues $30 billion deal with Axalta    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N50Q0 
BREAKINGVIEWS-Axalta is a chip in DowDuPont's paintwork    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N74WA 
BREAKINGVIEWS-Axalta deal complicates Akzo's juggling act    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1N53LH 
BREAKINGVIEWS-Akzo investors get whiff of reality. It smells bad 
    urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1LP1G6 
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> 
 (Editing by Richard Beales and Bob Cervi) 
 ((john.foley@thomsonreuters.com;)(Reuters Messaging: 
john.foley.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: AXALTA AKZONOBEL/BREAKINGVIEWS