 "Blackstone")
In the wake of Blackstone’s $100 billion investment pledge in India, world’s largest alternative asset manager, has made a non-binding offer to acquire AkzoNobel India’s paints business for around $1.2 billion, bankers said.
The move aligns with Blackstone’s broader strategy to invest in India’s consumer retail, health care, and IT sectors, which are attracting global attention.
AkzoNobel NV currently owns 74.76 per cent in the Indian entity, and the Dutch parent recently
said it is acquiring the powder coating operations and International Research Center from AkzoNobel India. The offer also includes transferring the intellectual property for the local decorative paints business to its Indian subsidiary, which has a total market valuation of ₹14,259 crore as of Friday. If AkzoNobel NV accepts the offer, Blackstone will start its due diligence and make a final offer. The JSW Group and Pidilite are also expected to make non-binding offers.
Blackstone declined to comment. An email sent to AkzoNobel NV during the weekend did not elicit any response.
In a recent analyst call, AkzoNobel NV said it expected the sale of the Indian business to conclude before calendar 2025-end, with around 10 per cent of this business expected to be retained by Akzo. The management emphasised that the preference remains for a full cash sale, said analysts with JP Morgan.
In his India visit last week, Blackstone Chairman and CEO Stephen A Schwarzman reiterated the firm’s commitment to India, saying that despite the recent stock market decline, India's real economy remains strong in the long term.
“Growth rates have been among the highest globally, and I don’t see anything that will change that in the near to intermediate term. The government here is relatively effective compared to others. No government makes perfect decisions, but the overall record is good. Population growth is another key factor for growth, as India is one of the few countries with a growing population, unlike many other countries,” he said.
Blackstone, which started its India journey with $1 billion of investment in 2005, has invested close to $50 billion in India over 20 years. In the future, Blackstone, which has assets under management of $1.1 trillion worldwide, will increase its investments by 2 times, or $100 billion, in India, Schwarzman said in Mumbai on Wednesday, without offering a time frame.
On the table
> The offer includes transferring the intellectual property for AkzoNobel’s local decorative paints business to the
Indian subsidiary
> AkzoNobel NV currently owns 74.76% of the Indian entity and has indicated plans to sell its powder coating operations & International Research Center
> JSW group and Pidilite may also make similar offers
