JSW Paints, part of $23 billion JSW Group, on Friday said it will acquire majority controlling stake in Akzo Nobel India Ltd (ANIL), the maker of Dulux paints, for Rs 8,986 crore. It will acquire 74.76 per cent stake from its Dutch promoters/holding entities -- namely Imperial Chemical Industries and Akzo Nobel Coatings International BV -- for a consideration of Rs 8,986 crore, according to a statement from the JSW Group firm.
Akzo, which acquired ICI, the maker of Dulux paints, for eight billion pounds in January, said that the company had to take such action to save about 80 million pound, The Times reported. The company employs 43,000 people in more than 80 countries, including 4,500 in Britain in its coatings and paint divisions, the report said.
'We realised that partnering with a strong local player like the JSW Group would create far greater value than going it alone.'
Indian paint majors, including Asian Paints, Berger Paints, and Kansai Nerolac, reported better-than-expected performance in Q4FY26, driven by steady demand, improved product mix, and strategic price hikes. The sector is also benefiting from reduced competitive intensity as new players also increase prices, narrowing the gap with incumbents.
India's mergers & acquisitions (M&As) market recorded deals worth $45.44 billion in the first half of 2025, up nearly 3.3 per cent from a year ago, even as ultra large-ticket transactions remained subdued. During the first half, the 7.1 per cent rise in deal count to 1,614 signals continuing appetite among domestic conglomerates and private equity (PE) funds for mid-sized and smaller assets.
Listed paint majors posted another lacklustre showing in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), with average revenue growth under 3 per cent. Sales were weighed down by Asian Paints - the market leader and the only major to report a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline.
Oil marketing companies (OMCs), paint manufacturers, tyre producers, and aviation stocks witnessed significant gains as Brent crude oil prices slipped below $70 per barrel. The price drop came after a double blow: The US imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, including energy imports, and OPEC+ - the group of major oil-producing nations including Russia - announced an output increase of 138,000 barrels per day, the first such hike since 2022.
Shailesh Jejurikar has 'always made an effort to stay close to his roots.'
You have to grow, and grow fast - that's the DNA of the JSW group, chairman Sajjan Jindal said as JSW Cement made its debut on the stock market mid-August. The remark captured not just the moment but also the momentum of JSW's growth story.
Apart from fraud and corruption, MNCs have serious governance issues in India. Some of them include higher royalty payment to the parent, undervaluing assets of subsidiaries that are being merged and so on.
IT major Wipro has bagged a three-year "multi-million" Euro deal from Dutch pharma major Akzo Nobel for providing infrastructure management services.
Among the international companies that are increasing their investments is the Japanese paint major, Nippon, which is putting in about Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) for manufacturing facilities in Gurgaon and a 25-acre unit in Chennai.
The paint sector is seeing heightened competition with the entry of deep-pocketed groups like Aditya Birla and JSW. However, some brokerages see an opportunity in select stocks.
The recent equity market weakness has sobered up investor mood, but the coming festive season is keeping analysts upbeat on stocks related to the consumption basket. Among the lot, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and consumer electronics segments are expected to do well over the next few months, and investors should thus selectively take bets in these pockets, analysts suggest. "We expect good volume growth for the FMCG sector during the festive season with some improvement in rural demand.
The government has approved 16 projects envisaging foreign investment worth Rs 1,647 crore (Rs 16.47 billion), while deferring Punj Lloyd's proposals for lack of security clearance.
A likely turnaround in profitability margins in the March quarter (Q4FY23) will not be enough to lift the outlook for paint stocks due to volatile crude oil prices and rising competition in the sector, analysts say. Hence, they advise investors to avoid the sector over the short-to-medium term despite the heavy correction in the stocks since last year. Shares of Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Indigo Paints, Nerolac and Pidilite have shed 6-32 per cent over the last 6 months versus a 3 per cent rise in the benchmark Sensex.
Company's loss-making Russian arm painted three World Cup soccer venues, and two airports to break even this fiscal; Berger now mulls acquiring competing painting companies.
10 high dividend paying stocks across sectors that are expected to maintain or even increase their pay-outs in FY23 thanks to faster earnings growth in the last four quarters.
The Netherlands has emerged as India's fifth-largest export destination in 2021-22 (FY22), jumping from its 10th position a year ago. Exports to the fifth-largest economy in the European Union (EU) bolted 94 per cent to $12.5 billion in the financial year ended March 31. In FY22, the Netherlands surpassed Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Germany, and Nepal to become India's largest export destination in the EU. Germany, which was earlier India's top European export destination (eighth position), has now dropped two ranks to 10th place.
India Inc is gearing up for a slugfest this year and from tech to paints, new battlegrounds are emerging, observes Indrajit Gupta, co-founder, Founding Fuel.
5 things to look at when companies go for mergers and acquisitions.
"I am a corporate story teller. I write stories that people can relate to," says Partha Basu, author of Mid-Career Crisis...why some sail through and others don't, in which he charts out a plan to tackle mid-career crisis and offers insights into how you can achieve success in your career.
The Sensex ended down 134 points at 28,559 and the Nifty ended 35 points lower at 8,554
'LinkedIn is supposed to be this super-connected social media network for professionals that I reluctantly joined at the persistence of a former colleague appalled at my lack of self-promotion.' 'Well, I'm out there and I don't know who knows me, but I do know that LinkedIn's algorithm definitely doesn't,' says Kanika Datta.
Power2SME, a one-stop shop for sourcing and buying raw materials for SMEs, is the only B2B firm in this space.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' stock market queries. Ajit will offer his unbiased views on a weekly basis
