By Adria Calatayud
AkzoNobel shares fell sharply after rivals Sherwin-Williams and Nippon Paint Holdings said they were dropping their efforts to jointly buy the Dutch paint maker, which recently turned down a 12.49 billion-euro ($14.53 billion) takeover bid.
Shares in AkzoNobel were down 19% to 53.74 euros in early European morning trading Wednesday, reversing last week's jump on news of the takeover approaches and taking their shares down about 9% in the year to date. This would be the stock's worst one-day percentage drop ever, according to FactSet data.
Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams said they had decided to end their pursuit after AkzoNobel rejected two all-cash offers.
In response, AkzoNobel said its management and supervisory boards continue to unanimously recommend a merger of equals with U.S. peer Axalta Coating Systems, a deal announced last year to form a paint and coatings group with a combined market value of some $17 billion.
AkzoNobel last week said the latest takeover proposal from Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams valued it at 73 euros a share. The pair of suitors said at the time they would consider next steps, if any, in light of the rejection.
The proposal involved a public takeover offer from Japan's Nippon and a later split of the group's assets with Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams, AkzoNobel added.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-03-26 0401ET
