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New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
JSW strengthens India paints push with US$1.6 billion Akzo Nobel unit deal
BENGALURU: JSW Paints will buy Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel's Indian arm for about US$1.6 billion, in what will be the country's biggest deal yet in the sector as competition intensifies between established players and new entrants. The deal comes as challenges for Indian paint makers mount, including volatile raw material costs and heightened competition, with billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's entry into the sector last year eating into Asian Paints' market share. Dulux Paint-owner Akzo Nobel had announced a review of its South Asia operations last year to rein in costs and boost its core coatings business. Shares of Akzo Nobel India jumped more than 11 per cent after the deal was announced, and were trading 7.6 per cent higher in Mumbai at around 0830 GMT. India's paint and coatings market is expected to reach US$16.37 billion in size by 2030, Mordor Intelligence estimates, from US$10.46 billion in 2025, driven by a boom in infrastructure and real estate development. The deal, which includes debt, will be the Indian paint sector's biggest deal on record, Dealogic data showed. JSW Paints, launched in 2019 and part of the US$23 billion JSW Group, will buy a 74.76 per cent stake in Akzo Nobel India for US$1.05 billion and launch an open offer for the roughly 25 per cent held by public shareholders. Parent Akzo Nobel, the fourth-largest paint maker in the world by market capitalisation behind PPG, Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams, will continue to retain its research and development centre and powder coatings business in India. GROWING COMPETITION Once completed, the deal will propel JSW Paints to fourth place by market share in a sector dominated by Asian Paints , Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac, according to Geojit Financial Services analyst Antu Thomas. Birla-owned Grasim launched Birla Opus in 2024, crowding the already-competitive market. Birla has since filed an antitrust complaint against Asian Paints for allegedly abusing its market position, Reuters has reported. In 2022, the competition regulator closed a case filed by JSW Paints against Asian Paints for abusing its market position, saying it found no breach of competition laws. "While this acquisition offers JSW Paints a significant scale-up opportunity, near-term integration challenges could provide an opportunity for incumbent players to strengthen their market position in the luxury segment," Amit Purohit, vice president at Elara Capital said. Akzo Nobel is likely to rake in 900 million euros in net proceeds and plans to launch a 400 million euro share buyback program after the deal's closing, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
JSW strengthens India paints push with $1.6 billion Akzo Nobel unit deal
BENGALURU: JSW Paints will buy Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel's Indian arm for about US$1.6 billion, in what will be the country's biggest deal yet in the sector as competition intensifies between established players and new entrants. The deal comes as challenges for Indian paint makers mount, including volatile raw material costs and heightened competition, with billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's entry into the sector last year eating into Asian Paints' market share. Dulux Paint-owner Akzo Nobel had announced a review of its South Asia operations last year to rein in costs and boost its core coatings business. Shares of Akzo Nobel India jumped more than 11 per cent after the deal was announced, and were trading 7.6 per cent higher in Mumbai at around 0830 GMT. India's paint and coatings market is expected to reach US$16.37 billion in size by 2030, Mordor Intelligence estimates, from US$10.46 billion in 2025, driven by a boom in infrastructure and real estate development. The deal, which includes debt, will be the Indian paint sector's biggest deal on record, Dealogic data showed. JSW Paints, launched in 2019 and part of the US$23 billion JSW Group, will buy a 74.76 per cent stake in Akzo Nobel India for US$1.05 billion and launch an open offer for the roughly 25 per cent held by public shareholders. Parent Akzo Nobel, the fourth-largest paint maker in the world by market capitalisation behind PPG, Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams, will continue to retain its research and development centre and powder coatings business in India. GROWING COMPETITION Once completed, the deal will propel JSW Paints to fourth place by market share in a sector dominated by Asian Paints , Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac, according to Geojit Financial Services analyst Antu Thomas. Birla-owned Grasim launched Birla Opus in 2024, crowding the already-competitive market. Birla has since filed an antitrust complaint against Asian Paints for allegedly abusing its market position, Reuters has reported. In 2022, the competition regulator closed a case filed by JSW Paints against Asian Paints for abusing its market position, saying it found no breach of competition laws. "While this acquisition offers JSW Paints a significant scale-up opportunity, near-term integration challenges could provide an opportunity for incumbent players to strengthen their market position in the luxury segment," Amit Purohit, vice president at Elara Capital said. Akzo Nobel is likely to rake in 900 million euros in net proceeds and plans to launch a 400 million euro share buyback program after the deal's closing, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Business Recorder
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
JSW strengthens India paints push with $1.6 billion Akzo Nobel unit deal
BENGALURU: JSW Paints will buy Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel's Indian arm for about $1.6 billion, in what will be the country's biggest deal yet in the sector as competition intensifies between established players and new entrants. The deal comes as challenges for Indian paint makers mount, including volatile raw material costs and heightened competition, with billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's entry into the sector last year eating into Asian Paints' market share. Dulux Paint-owner Akzo Nobel had announced a review of its South Asia operations last year to rein in costs and boost its core coatings business. Shares of Akzo Nobel India jumped more than 11% after the deal was announced, and were trading 7.6% higher in Mumbai at around 0830 GMT. India's paint and coatings market is expected to reach $16.37 billion in size by 2030, Mordor Intelligence estimates, from $10.46 billion in 2025, driven by a boom in infrastructure and real estate development. The deal, which includes debt, will be the Indian paint sector's biggest deal on record, Dealogic data showed. JSW Paints, launched in 2019 and part of the $23 billion JSW Group, will buy a 74.76% stake in Akzo Nobel India for $1.05 billion and launch an open offer for the roughly 25% held by public shareholders. JSW Steel files review petition before India's top court on Bhushan Power deal collapse Parent Akzo Nobel, the fourth-largest paint maker in the world by market capitalisation behind PPG, Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams, will continue to retain its research and development centre and powder coatings business in India. Growing competition Once completed, the deal will propel JSW Paints to fourth place by market share in a sector dominated by Asian Paints , Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac, according to Geojit Financial Services analyst Antu Thomas. Birla-owned Grasim launched Birla Opus in 2024, crowding the already-competitive market. Birla has since filed an antitrust complaint against Asian Paints for allegedly abusing its market position, Reuters has reported. In 2022, the competition regulator closed a case filed by JSW Paints against Asian Paints for abusing its market position, saying it found no breach of competition laws. 'While this acquisition offers JSW Paints a significant scale-up opportunity, near-term integration challenges could provide an opportunity for incumbent players to strengthen their market position in the luxury segment,' Amit Purohit, vice president at Elara Capital said. Akzo Nobel is likely to rake in 900 million euros in net proceeds and plans to launch a 400 million euro share buyback program after the deal's closing, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Birla's big paints bet rattles Asian Paints' India reign
India's top paint maker, Asian Paints , has lost more market share than analysts expected to rival Grasim Industries in the year since billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla 's ambitious paints venture was launched, according to Elara Securities data shared exclusively with Reuters. #Operation Sindoor The damage done at Pak bases as India strikes to avenge Pahalgam Why Pakistan pleaded to end hostilities Kashmir's Pahalgam sparks Karachi's nightmare Asian Paints' market share fell to 52% from 59% in the 12 months ending March 31, Elara Securities data shows, raising the pressure on the industry leader to spend more on marketing and discounts to retain its crown. Birla Opus ' market share reached 6.8% in the latest quarter. "Whenever a new entrant comes, its strategies are aggressive. But this time, the scale is much bigger," said Geojit Financial Services analyst Antu Thomas, who had expected Grasim to gain only 1%-2% in market share from Asian Paints. Birla Opus, which is the paints arm of the Aditya Birla Group company Grasim, has borrowed heavily from Asian Paints' playbook to gain ground in the $9.5 billion sector that also features Berger Paints, Kansai Nerolac, Indigo Paints and Akzo Nobel India. Live Events After its February 2024 launch with an investment of 100 billion rupees ($1.18 billion), it expanded the paint sector's capacity at a pace never seen before, analysts said. It offered deep discounts to lure paint dealers, hired mid-level managers from Asian Paints , and set up factories near its entrenched rival's units, according to Reuters interviews with paint dealers and former Asian Paints employees. "Asian Paints formed 70% of my annual paints sales in 2023. In 2024, the share was 30%," said Sunny Rahman, a paint dealer in the eastern city of Kolkata, who switched brands to take advantage of lower prices. The moves have hurt Asian Paints, which reported a larger-than-expected 45% drop in fourth-quarter profit last week and warned that demand conditions were at their worst in decades. "In a market which is already slow, the intensity of competitive action has been much more," Asian Paints CEO Amit Syngle said on the post-earnings conference call. "I think it is a double-whammy." INTENSIFYING BATTLE Asian Paints did not respond to requests seeking further comment. Birla Opus CEO Rakshit Hargave told Reuters his company had no plans to slow down. "Our objective is to gain market share, and I think, in the plan that we have, we have built in for the fact that we will do so," Hargave said. He denied the location of Birla Opus factories was decided based on proximity to Asian Paints' units and said Birla Opus was hiring across the sector. Industry watchers expect the market share battle to intensify further this year, with analysts at ICICI Securities flagging "downside risks" to Asian Paints' outlook calling for EBITDA margin (operating profitability) of 18%-20%. "The way forward for Asian Paints is not to take steep discounts. It will do well by introducing more products with differential value," Thomas said.
