Dutch paints giant AkzoNobel has agreed to sell its decorative paints business in Southeast Asia to Japan's Nippon Paint in a deal worth $1.35 billion, the company announced Monday, completing a strategic review of its Asian decorative paints portfolio.
The sale covers decorative paints operations in seven countries — Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia. AkzoNobel said net cash proceeds after taxes and payments to minority partners are expected to be about $1 billion. The Indonesia portion, involving a joint venture a Nippon Paint unit will acquire in full from both partners, is expected to close separately in late 2026, with the remaining transactions expected to close around mid-2027.
Chief Executive Greg Poux-Guillaume called the completed Asia portfolio review part of an ongoing strategy to focus on areas where the company can achieve differentiating scale and strengthen its position. AkzoNobel earlier divested its decorative paints operations in India for $1.6 billion and in Pakistan for €50 million, and said it will now focus on closing its planned merger with U.S. coatings maker Axalta, announced last November.
The deal followed months of courtship: Nippon Paint submitted multiple proposals in July valuing AkzoNobel's decorative paints business at about €7.5 billion ($8.44 billion), after withdrawing a €12.5 billion bid for the entire company pursued jointly with Sherwin-Williams in June. The Financial Times, which first reported the Southeast Asia deal on Sunday, said Nippon remains interested in a larger transaction — but that AkzoNobel has no plans to sell further assets from the business.
