JSW paints the town red with Akzo Nobel buyout, sets sights on top-three spot

“We’re not just entering the big league—we want to take on the top two paint players,” announced Parth Jindal, managing director of JSW Paints, shortly after announcing the company’s biggest bet yet: a majority acquisition of Akzo Nobel India, the maker of Dulux paints. The deal marks a defining moment in JSW Paints’ six-year journey and signals its aggressive ambition to disrupt the pecking order in India’s ₹72,000 crore paints industry.

JSW Paints will acquire up to 74.76% in Akzo Nobel India from its Dutch parent Akzo Nobel N.V. and affiliates, for up to ₹8,986 crore at ₹2,762.05 per share, with an additional ₹447 crore payable later subject to certain conditions.

For JSW Paints—which only recently turned operationally profitable in 2024 with an EBITDA of ₹67 crore and revenues crossing ₹2,000 crore—the acquisition provides a platform to scale rapidly. Jindal said the company now targets ₹10,000 crore in revenue and aims to become the country’s third-largest decorative paint player and the leader in industrial coatings.

Jindal said that as a combined entity, market penetration will become better, with JSW Paints Tier 3-Tier 4 reach and Dulux’s metropolitan markets coming together. Speaking on the price points of the products, he said that he would continue with competitive pricing, with no plans to dilute Dulux’s premium pricing. “The aim is to increase per-dealer throughput while keeping Dulux firmly positioned as a premium brand,” he said.

Akzo Nobel CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume elaborated on the decision to choose JSW Paints as the right partner. “We had options. It was really about finding not only the right home for our people but the right partner for our company, and we chose JSW,” he stated, elaborating on the reasoning behind the move. Describing the decision as a deliberate and positive step, he added that the values, the ethics, the transparency, and the enthusiasm of the JSW Group he saw during the discussions reaffirmed his choice. 

The Akzo Nobel CEO added that while his company boasts strong product quality and well-known brands, it lacked the “local firepower” needed to fully tap into India’s market opportunities. He admitted that, as a multinational, the company sometimes lost focus and didn’t leverage its brands or product strengths effectively. “What we missed was the ability to take that promise and transform it into business and market share," he said. 

Highlighting his confidence in the JSW Group and the new partnership, Poux-Guillaume said that Akzo Nobel has no plans to leave India. It will continue to have full ownership of its powder coatings business and remain the technology partner across all coating segments to JSW. 

Speaking about delisting Akzo Nobel, Jindal said that JSW intends to keep Akzo Nobel as a listed company on the bourses and will keep the ownership under 75%. When asked about financing the acquisition, he said that it would happen through a combination of internal accruals, debt, private equity and other financial instruments. 

Jindal added that FY25 had been an anomaly for the decorative paint sector, with margins coming under pressure. However, he expressed confidence that the industrial paints market is set for significant expansion in the coming years. He said that the company is also exploring cross-business synergies across its group’s interests in steel, cement, and paints, potentially unlocking new avenues for growth.