Baker McKenzie has advised AkzoNobel on the USD 1.35 billion carve-out and proposed sale of its Decorative Paints business in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia to Nippon Paint. In addition, we advised AkzoNobel on the proposed sale of its Decorative Paints business in Indonesia.
The transactions represent an important milestone in AkzoNobel's strategic portfolio review. Having already sold its Deco businesses in India and Pakistan, the planned divestments mark the conclusion of AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints portfolio review in Southeast and South Asia, which was launched in 2024.
The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Completion is expected in mid-2027, except for the sale of the Indonesia business, which is expected to complete separately in late 2026.
The highly complex, multi-jurisdictional carve-out required close coordination across jurisdictions, workstreams and legal disciplines. Baker McKenzie's integrated cross-border team brought together lawyers across Asia Pacific and Europe, advising on M&A, carve-out, antitrust and competition, employment and compensation, commercial and real estate matters.
The Baker McKenzie team was led from Amsterdam by Denise Ozmis, Joost Polman and Mo Almarini, and included:
- M&A/ carve-outs: Max Nederlof, Max van Velthoven, Daan Paquay, Kim Tan and Willem Jan Treuren (Amsterdam); Gerrit Kleute, Shirin Tang, Liang Jun Ong and Marcus Dee (Singapore); Louis Chew, Andre Gan, Shi Jing Ting and Natania Ng (Malaysia); Thi Thanh Le, Vu Quynh Trang Nguyen and Xuan Nghi Ma (Vietnam); Devina Andrasanti (Indonesia), Jarae Sithiwong and Denpoum Pipatcharoenkij (Thailand); Simon De Young and Megan Liew (Melbourne)
- Commercial: Helen Griffiths, Daniel Relton, Steve Holmes and Bryan Poon (London); Sanil Khatri (Singapore), Benjamin van Kessel, Joost Lichtendahl and Romy van ’t Veer (Amsterdam)
- Antitrust & Competition: Samantha Mobley and Josh Chamberlain (London); Beau Maes (Brussels)
Throughout the transactions, Baker McKenzie's teams worked closely with AkzoNobel and its other advisers, including Goldman Sachs, KPMG, and BCG, coordinating across jurisdictions and workstreams.
Further information is available in the client's press release.