PPG faces competing bid for Finnish firm

Another paints company has made a counter bid for a Finnish company that Pittsburgh coatings giant PPG hopes to acquire.

Dutch coatings business Akzo Nobel on Monday said it would pay 31.25 euros per share, or a total $1.7 billion, for Tikkurila, making its offer 12% higher than a $1.5 billion deal that PPG and Tikkurila agreed to two weeks ago.

Downtown-based PPG said in a statement it was “currently reviewing the next steps in our process.”

“We continue to believe that the combination of Tikkurila and PPG will result in significant value creation for our shareholders, and is to the benefit of both companies’ employees, customers and all other stakeholders,” the company said.

Tikkurila said it would review Akzo’s offer but that terms of its agreement with PPG give the Pittsburgh company an opportunity to raise its bid.

PPG in 2017 tried to buy Akzo but after months of being rebuffed and raising its offer to close to $30 billion, eventually walked away.

Akzo Nobel’s chief executive, Theirry Vanlancker, called its offer for Tikkurila a rational bid. “If a farmer sees his neighbor is selling his land, he will always have a look,” he told Reuters news service.

Tikkurila and PPG in December announced they had reached an agreement for PPG to buy the smaller company for 25 euros per share, in a deal valued at $1.35 billion.

On Jan. 5, the companies said they agreed to an amended offer from PPG of 27.75 euros per share, or $1.5 billion, because Tikkurila had received a competing bid.

Tikkurila said Monday that the bid was from Hempel, a coatings company based in Denmark.

PPG’s revised tender offer was scheduled to commence last week and close in the second quarter.