INFRAME ASIA, BUSINESS – AkzoNobel has agreed to sell its decorative paints business across Southeast Asia to Japan’s Nippon Paint for approximately $1.35 billion. The agreement was announced on October 5, 2026, Central European Time (CET, UTC+1), and covers operations across several major Asian markets. The transaction marks the completion of AkzoNobel’s strategic review of its decorative paints portfolio in Asia.
The businesses included in the deal operate in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia. AkzoNobel said it expects to receive about $1 billion in net cash after taxes and payments to minority partners. The transaction is valued at about 21 times the business’s 2025 EBITDA.
For Nippon Paint, the acquisition expands its presence across some of the fastest-growing consumer and construction markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The Japanese company has already established manufacturing, distribution and sales networks in several of the countries covered by the transaction. The purchase will add AkzoNobel’s decorative paint brands and operations to those existing businesses.
The deal includes AkzoNobel’s decorative paints activities but does not include its broader coatings operations. The Dutch company will also retain full ownership of its Global Business Services organization. The separation allows AkzoNobel to focus on other parts of its business while transferring the regional decorative paints operations to Nippon Paint.
Indonesia is expected to have a separate transaction timetable from the other markets. The Indonesian portion is expected to close in late 2026, while the remaining transactions are expected to be completed around the middle of 2027. All transactions remain subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
The sale follows AkzoNobel’s earlier divestment of its decorative paints businesses in India and Pakistan. Those transactions were part of a broader effort to reshape the company’s portfolio around businesses where it believes it can achieve greater scale and stronger market positions. The Southeast Asian sale now completes the company’s review of its decorative paints portfolio in Asia.
Nippon Paint had previously attempted to acquire a much larger portion of AkzoNobel’s decorative paints business. The Japanese company submitted several proposals that valued the entire decorative paints division at around €7.5 billion. Earlier in 2026, Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams had also withdrawn a much larger proposal for the entire AkzoNobel company.
The Southeast Asian businesses generated approximately $291 million in revenue and $65 million in EBITDA during 2025, according to Nippon Paint. Both figures were lower than the previous year. Nippon Paint expects the acquisition to generate operational benefits through shared procurement, manufacturing, logistics and sales activities.
Nippon Paint is financing the purchase through a combination of bank borrowing and cash rather than issuing new shares. The company said the acquisition is expected to contribute positively to profits once completed. Its shares rose during trading in Tokyo following the announcement on October 5, 2026, Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9).
AkzoNobel said the sale will allow it to concentrate on completing its planned merger with US coatings company Axalta. The merger, announced in 2025, is intended to create a much larger global coatings group. AkzoNobel said the proceeds from the Southeast Asian sale would strengthen its financial position as it moves toward that next stage.
The transaction will significantly expand Nippon Paint’s decorative paints footprint in Southeast Asia and Australia once the individual deals are completed. In Indonesia, the business is scheduled to transfer separately in late 2026, while the other regional transactions are targeted for completion around mid-2027.
