Earlier this month paints and coatings producer AkzoNobel was the target of an unwelcome takeover bid by US sector rival PPG. But now the Amsterdam-based company has turned tables and is seeking its own prey: Axalta Coating Systems of Philadelphia, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday. An informed source said Axalta headed the list of AkzoNobel takeover candidates. He admitted that no talks had yet taken place but confirmed Axalt was a ‘perfect fit’ for the Dutch company. A fomer subsidiary of US chemicals giant DuPont, Axalta is an American company which specialises in ‘performance coatings’ and books annual revenues of $4bn and has a workforce of 13,000. This makes AkzoNobel about three times larger with its annual turnover of €14.2bn and 46,000 employees worldwide. AkzoNobel is said to believe that a large takeover would keep PPG away, possibly because the Dutch company would then become too large. AkzoNobel resolutely rejected PPG’s €29.2bn offer last Thursday but a second bid is said to be in the works.
