US: Valspar divesting $420mn to allow Sherwin-Williams deal

Valspar will sell the assets of its industrial wood-coatings business to satisfy US regulators’ antitrust concerns on its acquisition by Sherwin-Williams.

Valspar and Sherwin-Williams said Wednesday the unit will be sold to Philadelphia-based Axalta Coatings Systems for $420 million in cash. The Valspar wood-coatings business, with $225 million in annual revenue, is considered one of the leading providers of coatings for both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket applications.

Sherwin-Williams announced a year ago its plans to buy Valspar for $11.3 billion. In the months that followed, regulators in the US and Canada made it clear that the deal would face antitrust obstacles and some type of division or asset divestiture would be needed.

“With this [Axalta] agreement, we believe that we have addressed regulatory concerns appropriately and we are moving forward to obtain approval for our acquisition of Valspar,” said Sherwin-Williams CEO John Morikis in a statement.

Full Content: Star Tribune

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.