Akzo Nobel open to merger talks with Axalta - report (translated)
02 DEC 2017
Dutch paint and chemical group Akzo Nobel N.V. [AMS:AKZA] is open to merger talks with American Axalta Coating Systems [NYSE: AXTA], an unnamed source familiar with the situation told Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad.
According to the report, Japanese Nippon Paint [TYO:4612] and Axalta broke off their talks because Nippon didn't want a merger but a takeover for, according to unnamed sources, USD 9.1bn. That figure is more than Axalta's share value, the report said.
Akzo was earlier in talks with Axalta about a possible 'merger of equals'. Akzo's shareholders made it clear that they were interested in a merger with Axalta, but were not prepared to pay a premium, CEO Thierry Vanlancker reportedly said at a special shareholder's meeting on Thursday, the report said.
Link to original source (Het Financieele Dagblad)