Sajjan Jindal's JSW Paints, Advent-Indigo submit bids to acquire Dulux-owner Akzo India: Report

Dulux Paints

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Paints and a consortium of Advent International and Indigo Paints are in the race to acquire Akzo Nobel India, the owner of Dulux Paints, the Economic Times has reported. This comes as the company's Dutch parent Akzo Nobel NV is looking to exit India as part of its global restructuring plan.

JSW Paints and Advent-Indigo submitted their binding bids this week after the initial deadline of April 15 was extended, the report cited sources as saying.

Fevicol-maker Pidilite Industries is also reported to be in the race, though it is not an aggressive bidder and mainly targets Akzo’s decorative business.

Moneycontrol couldn't verify the report independently.

Akzo Nobel India had on November 22 approved the proposal of selling non-productive assets of the company. Akzo is re-evaluating its position in India amid intensifying competition in the decorative paints segment, which the company has described as "ripe for consolidation".

Akzo Nobel was weighing the future course and conducting a reassessment, chairman and managing director Rajiv Rajgopal said in November. "We are running a strategic review across various businesses. They are looking at what exactly are the sort of things that they really want to do? The idea is how can we move this company into a winning position given the competitive intensity in the market. And so they're going to look at all options," he said.

Demand conditions were tough for the paint industry in the first half of FY25 due to a severe heatwave and general elections followed by an extended monsoon. The entry of a strong player in Birla Opus also added to the competitive intensity, leading to pricing pressure.

Akzo Nobel India's market capitalisation is near Rs 15,943 crore and the share has dropped 2 percent this year.