AkzoNobel announced it has entered into binding agreements to sell its decorative paints business in Southeast Asia to Nippon Paint.

The agreements include AkzoNobel’s decorative paints business in seven countries: Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia. AkzoNobel will retain full ownership of its coatings activities and global business services organization.

The transactions are based on a total enterprise value of approximately $1.35 billion (€1.20 billion), representing an EV/FY25 EBITDA multiple of 21x. The net cash proceeds, after taxes and minority partners, are expected to be approximately $1 billion (€0.9 billion). Having already sold its deco businesses in India and Pakistan, the planned divestments mark the conclusion of AkzoNobel’s decorative paints portfolio review in Asia. The company will now continue to fully focus on the successful closing of its merger with Axalta.

“The successful completion of our Asia portfolio review is part of an ongoing strategy to focus our portfolio on areas where we can achieve differentiating scale and strengthen our position,” says AkzoNobel CEO, Greg Poux-Guillaume. “We’re grateful to all our colleagues in Asia for helping us establish a series of excellent decorative paints businesses with strong brands and products. We trust that Nippon Paint, in combination with their own businesses in those countries, will build on that momentum.”

“We are excited to welcome these businesses and talented teams to our Group, with our shared ambition to create lasting value for our customers and partners,” Wee Siew Kim, director, representative executive officer & co-president at Nippon Paint. “We look forward to building on the strong foundations established by AkzoNobel, while continuing to deliver the quality, experience and local expertise that customers have come to value.”

Completion is expected in mid-2027, except for the sale of the Indonesia business, which is expected to complete separately in late 2026.