JSW Paints is closing in on a sweetened ₹9,000-12,000-crore acquisition deal with Dutch paint giant AkzoNobel NV. If the deal — currently under negotiation and expected to be signed in the UK within a fortnight — goes through, it will hand the Indian conglomerate control of the iconic ‘Dulux’ brand across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Indonesia.

Akzo Nobel JV, known for brands like Dulux, has been in active discussions to rationalise its South Asia portfolio, with India — a cornerstone of its regional strategy — at the heart of the talks.

Akzo has a 74 per cent stake in the India business, and market sources maintain “there could be an entire exit” of the Dutch paint-maker from the region if the deal goes through.

Third party investors

Apart from JSW Holdings bringing in money, a clutch of “third party investors” are being roped in too. Board clearances have reportedly been received, sources aware told businessline.

“During discussions the India–Sri Lanka– Nepal businesses were valued at ₹9,000–10,000 crore. But, as negotiations progressed, the deal was sweetened to ensure JSW gets a larger global presence. So some of the South Asian operations were included. If the second deal – currently under negotiation, goes through, valuations could possibly soar to ₹12,000–14,000 crore,” a source said.

But options are being actively discussed.

Sources say the definitive agreement signing is expected over the “next few days” with both teams travelling to the UK.

Akzo having previously mentioned that “review of India business operations” would be likely completed by “Q2” (April – June). Akzo Novel NV follows a calendar year for accounting purposes as against the India entity, with follows a fsical year.

JSW Paints had emerged as the front-runner, in a two-horse race where it outbid a consortium of Advent and Indigo Paints. JSW had apparently sought time to fix up funds for the acquisition.

JSW Paints and Akzo did not respond to queries from businessline.

Big Ticket Buy

Akzo Nobel India – which now owns the Dulux brand here – is the fourth largest paint-maker in the country, after Asian Paints, Berger and Kansai Nerolac. It has a less than 10 per cent market share though.

The acquisition would relatively propel JSW Paints into the top four players here, in the otherwise highly competitive segment here, with larger conglomerates and newer entrants like Birla Opus investing heavily into manufacturing and aggressively taking on older players seeking market share gains.

“This would be a big ticket buy for JSW as and when it goes through,” said a market source adding that Akzo is amongst the consistently profitable paint-makers in the country with a “strong foothold in the premium decorative paints segment”. A segment, where JSW Paints premium offering ‘Halo’ has a presence.

Sources said JSW Paints plans to merge its premium brand with Dulux; and Dulux with JSW Paints, with the long-term strategy being to keep “a single strong brand” in India and “global markets”, if it gets access.

Funding plan

Incidentally, JSW is likely to fund the acquisition through a mix of capital infusion, internal accruals, third party investors and possiby debt.

While there are reports of the Jindals pledging stake in JSW Steel to raise funds, there are some market sources who say part of the promoter stake dilution in JSW Infra would be used to fund the acquisition.

JSW has not responded to queries on the same.

Published on June 26, 2025