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AkzoNobel is nearing an agreement to sell its Southeast Asian decorative paints business to Japan’s Nippon Paint for well over $1 billion, the Financial Times reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the discussions. An agreement could be reached as early as Monday, October 5, according to the report; Reuters said it could not independently verify the account.
The proposed sale would cover operations in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, along with Papua New Guinea and Australia. The companies had not publicly confirmed a transaction by Sunday, and AkzoNobel and Nippon Paint did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Reported scope and timing
The reported price is described only as “well over” $1 billion. Neither the FT account as relayed by Reuters nor the subsequent reporting disclosed a precise valuation, the assets’ financial performance, or proposed closing conditions.
The reported business spans several Asia-Pacific markets and is limited to decorative paints. The available accounts do not specify how operations, employees, brands or distribution arrangements would be handled after a sale, or whether regulatory approvals would be required in particular countries.
A smaller deal after broader approaches
The reported negotiations follow Nippon Paint’s earlier attempts to acquire a substantially larger part of AkzoNobel. AkzoNobel said in July that it had received proposals from Nippon Paint concerning its Decorative Paints business, with an indicative enterprise valuation of €7.5 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
Separately, Nippon Paint and U.S. coatings maker Sherwin-Williams pursued a proposal to acquire AkzoNobel as a whole. Reuters reported that the companies withdrew their €12.5 billion approach in June. The latest reported talks concern selected regional operations, rather than an acquisition of AkzoNobel or its entire decorative paints division.
The Financial Times report, as summarized by contemporaneous coverage, said Nippon Paint remained interested in a larger transaction involving AkzoNobel’s decorative paints business. It also reported that absorbing the Southeast Asian operations could occupy Nippon Paint for some time, while AkzoNobel did not plan further asset sales from that business. Those points are attributed to people familiar with the discussions, not announced company commitments.
Portfolio changes at AkzoNobel
The prospective divestment fits a broader effort by AkzoNobel to reduce its exposure to markets it considers peripheral. Coverage of the report described the Southeast Asian operations as markets where the company is not a leader. The proposed transaction would turn that strategy into a sale to a competitor seeking to expand its regional footprint, although the companies have not disclosed their rationale or expected benefits.
AkzoNobel also agreed in 2025 to sell its Indian business to JSW for about €1.4 billion, according to contemporaneous reporting. That earlier transaction and the newly reported Southeast Asian negotiations involve separate assets; the available accounts do not describe the latter as a condition of any other corporate transaction.
What remains unconfirmed
As of Sunday, the expected Monday agreement was a reported possibility, not a completed deal. No public announcement established a signed agreement, final price, transaction structure or timetable for closing. Reuters noted that it had not independently verified the FT report, while the parties had not provided comment.
The next concrete milestone would be a company announcement or other confirmation of an agreement. Until then, the reported value and asset scope should be treated as preliminary, and no completion date or regulatory process has been publicly specified in the available coverage.
