Billion Euro coatings

Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries has made a €2.2bn offer to purchase the SigmaKalon Group, a coatings producer based in Uithoorn, Netherlands, from global private investment firm Bain Capital.

Bain Capital has granted a period of exclusivity to PPG Industries and intends to respond to the offer after discussions with appropriate employee representative bodies.

Should Bain Capital accept the offer, the acquisition would be subject to customary conditions, including receipt of regulatory approval.

SigmaKalon is a global producer of architectural, protective, marine and industrial coatings. The company sells architectural coatings directly to professional painters via a network of service centres, and it maintains a network of approximately 500 company-owned stores and approximately 3,000 independent wholesalers that give it direct access to customers.

SigmaKalon was created in 1999 from the merger of Total’s Kalon Group and PetroFina’s Sigma Coatings, and it was acquired in 2003 by Bain Capital. Sales have increased from approximately €1.7bn in 2003 to approximately €2bn in 2006.