AkzoNobel has offered €31.25 per share, equating to a transaction value of €1.4 billion, which is 12.6% above PPG’S offer earlier this month of €27.75 per share, or €1.24 billion. The Amsterdam-headquartered group said a combination with Tikkurila would “create a strong platform for future growth, better able to serve customers with more innovative and sustainable solutions, building on a shared European heritage.”

“Our complementary geographic profiles would create superior value compared to any other combination, including growth opportunities for the company and its employees,” said Thierry Vanlancker, CEO of AkzoNobel. “Our collective procurement capabilities, expanded production, and combined sales and distribution channels would deliver substantial value creation. AkzoNobel and Tikkurila would have an exciting and sustainable future together, continuing the recent positive momentum and performance improvement, as a global frontrunner in the industry.”

To obtain regulatory clearance for a merger with Tikkurila, AkzoNobel has already agreed key terms with Danish coatings group Hempel for the sale of assets that include the Dutch firm’s decorative paints business in the Nordics and Baltics. AkzoNobel said Tikkurila’s main offices and production facilities in Finland would become the vital hub for the combined business in the Baltic Sea region and it would make substantial investment in production facilities to supply future growth.

Responding to the bid, Tikkurila said it will consider AkzoNobel’s offer, while also pointing out that it had previously assessed alternative buyers, including AkzoNobel and Hempel. In fact, it was a prior offer by Hempel that forced PPG to raise its initial offer on Jan. 5, having first said in December 2020 that it would pay €25 per share, or €1.1 billion. PPG started its tender offer for Tikkurila’s outstanding shares on Jan. 15.

There is history between AkzoNobel and PPG. The latter made a series of hostile takeover attempts for its Dutch rival in 2017, which AkzoNobel’s then CEO Ton Büchner rejected, despite pressure from many of its largest shareholders. After a bitterly fought three-month battle, the US group finally walked away with both companies making a series of acquisitions in the paints segment during the years since.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist