Fresh fears for £23bn target Dulux as top team departs

DULUX owner Akzo Nobel is set to lose both men who protected it against a £23bn takeover by foreign predators – raising fears it could become a target once again.

Chairman Antony Burgmans, 70, said yesterday he would resign next year after the departure of chief executive Ton Buchner, 52, on Friday due to ill health.

They fought off US rival PPG’s takeover bid in May but there are fears it could be revived in December when a cooling off period ends and amid pressure from shareholders including the aggressive hedge fund Elliott.

Akzo bosses are promising angry shareholders the chance to discuss the deal in September – and have coaxed City broker David Mayhew out of retirement to try and smooth relations.

Elliott and supporters wanted the company to look at the deal but there are fears for jobs in Holland and the UK, where Akzo employs about 3,000, in the North-East, Glasgow, Suffolk, the Midlands and Slough. Eamon O’Hearn, the GMB union’s national officer, said they were looking for ‘all parties to confirm their commitment to UK manufacturing workers’.

Joost van Beek, analyst at Theodoor Gilissen, said: ‘The PPG story is not completely over. They will wait and see if new chances arise.’

Akzo looked even more vulnerable yesterday as it posted profits for the second quarter of £412m, missing expectations by around 7pc. Revenue of around £3.3bn also fell short.

Yesterday Elliott, which has increased its stake in the paint maker to 9.5pc, accused Akzo of flouting shareholder rights by preventing them changing the agenda of a special meeting called for September. It wants a vote on forcing Burgmans out sooner.

Bernstein Research analyst Jeremy Redenius said: ‘I speak to a lot of shareholders – I have struggled to find really one who is in support of the company’s actions at this point.’