AkzoNobel recently announced that it had declined a third unsolicited, non-binding and conditional proposal submitted by PPG Industries on April 24, 2017, for all outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of AkzoNobel.

In an official release, AkzoNobel said that it had concluded that its own strategy, presented on April 19, 2017, offered a superior route to growth and long-term value creation and was in the best interests of shareholders and all other stakeholders.

The decision followed considerable in-depth analysis of PPG’s proposal by the Supervisory Board and Management Board of AkzoNobel, working closely with their financial and legal advisors. As part of this process, on May 6, 2017, Ton Büchner, CEO, and Antony Burgmans, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AkzoNobel, met with Michael McGarry, Chairman and CEO, and Hugh Grant, Lead Independent Director of PPG.

After extensive consideration, AkzoNobel said that it concluded that the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders were best served by its own strategy to accelerate growth and value creation. It also said that this strategy had paved the way for the following:

• The creation of two focused and high-performing Paints and Coatings and Specialty Chemicals businesses, to enable an acceleration of growth and enhanced profitability
• Significantly increased financial guidance for Paints and Coatings and Specialty Chemicals
• The clear separation of Specialty Chemicals within 12 months with the vast majority of net proceeds to be returned to shareholders
• Increased shareholder returns, including a 50% higher dividend for 2017 and €1 billion ($1.5 billion Canadian) special cash dividend payable in November
• The creation of significant value for shareholders in the short, medium and long term, whilst also securing the interest of other stakeholders.

AkzoNobel said that the extensive review and the meeting with PPG confirmed that AkzoNobel’s own strategy was deemed more suitable and did not contain certain risks and uncertainties inherent in PPG’s proposal. The company also said that the proposed strategy will build on the existing growth momentum within AkzoNobel and create a step change in value creation for shareholders and all other stakeholders.