Jindal brushes past rivals in Dulux buy

THE Hindu Business Line: “He’s a tough negotiator,” observed the Dutch paint behemoth AkzoNobel NV global chief Greg Poux-Guillaume, in reference to heir to the JSW empire and JSW Paints Managing Director, 35-year-old Parth Jindal.

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In a deal that rewrote the contours of the decorative paints business in India, Jindal clinched the takeover of Akzo Nobel India, which owns the iconic Dulux brand. This landmark transaction, widely seen as one of the most aggressive consolidation plays in recent memory, vaulted JSW Paints to the No. 4 position in the country’s intensely contested paints sector.

This is also the first time an acquirer will utilise Regulation 7(4) of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011, to pro-rata reduce the transaction size and the open offer size to help maintain public shareholding, sources in the know said.

Moreover, this is the first acquisition in the paints space to be referred before the Competition Commission of India.

Jindal’s JSW outflanked a formidable consortium of Advent International — Indigo Paints and a distant third bidder, Pidilite, to emerge as the frontrunner in May — eventually sealing the deal by June-end.

The transaction saw the ₹ 2,500 crore unlisted JSW Paints acquiring a commanding 75% stake in the ₹ 4,000 crore Akzo Nobel India.

The acquisition hands the Jindal family a firmer grip over the decorative paints segment — a competitive arena now witnessing a slugfest with deep-pocketed entrants like Birla Opus and entrenched incumbents such as Asian Paints, Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac.

The deal also provides JSW a larger play in the high-margin industrial and protective coatings business — a segment overlooked in the shadow of decorative, but known for delivering superior profitability.