Hempel Buys Wattyl from Sherwin-Williams
Danish coatings manufacturer Hempel has agreed to buy Wattyl, an Australian and New Zealand producer of architectural and protective paints and coatings, from owner Sherwin-Williams. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of March, were not disclosed.
Wattyl, which became part of Sherwin-Williams through the acquisition of Valspar in June 2017, has annual revenues of approximately €150 million and 750 employees. Its headquarters are located in Sydney and it has two factories in Kilburn, South Australia and Footscray, Victoria, as well as four distribution centers in Australia and one in New Zealand. The company also has nearly 100 company-owned stores.
“We are now taking the first large, visible step in our ambition of doubling Hempel by 2025, and the acquisition will have a major, positive impact on our footprint and development in our South & East Asia region,” said Hempel Group president & CEO Lars Petersson.
The CEO added that the acquisition also highlights key points of Hempel’s strategy, namely going for leadership positions in selected segments and geographies, with the goal of doubling revenue to €3 billion within five years.
Sherwin-Williams said the divestment is part of an ongoing process to evaluate all aspects of its portfolio for their ability to meet the company’s performance criteria and for their long-term strategic fit. John Morikis, chairman and CEO of Sherwin-Williams, commented: “While we’ve driven significant improvement in the Wattyl business, we believe company resources can be better deployed to other opportunities offering greater growth, more meaningful scale and higher returns and cash flow.”
Hempel had earlier this year agreed key terms to buy AkzoNobel’s decorative paints business in the Nordics and Baltics as part of the Dutch group’s plan to acquire Tikkurila, which had previously accepted a bid from rival paint maker PPG Industries. However, AkzoNobel announced on Feb. 8 that it would no longer pursue Tikkurila, saying the intended transaction no longer met its criteria for creating superior value.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
