CLEVELAND, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) today announced it has signed a purchase agreement with global coatings company Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZO.AS) to divest its China architectural paint business. The business manufactures and sells decorative paints under the Huarun® brand name in China, has annual revenue of approximately $100 million USD and employs approximately 300 people. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, pending customary regulatory approvals.
"The divestiture of our China architectural paint business aligns with our ongoing strategy to optimize our portfolio, brands and customer programs to drive continued value for our shareholders," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis. "We are confident our resources can be better prioritized to other areas of our Company to offer greater growth and higher returns and cash flow. We remain committed to growing our industrial coatings business in the region, and we thank the employees of the architectural paint business for their contributions to Sherwin-Williams."
The architectural paint business being divested became part of Sherwin-Williams through the 2017 acquisition of The Valspar Corporation and was previously reported in the Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group.
ABOUT THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY
Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of paint, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. The Company manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams®, Valspar®, HGTV HOME® by Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy®, Krylon®, Minwax®, Thompson's® WaterSeal®, Cabot® and many more. With global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams® branded products are sold exclusively through a chain of more than 5,000 Company-operated stores and branches, while the Company's other brands are sold through leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. The Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group supplies a broad range of highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets in more than 120 countries around the world. Sherwin-Williams shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: SHW). For more information, visit www.sherwin.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "can," "will," "should," "project," "could," "plan," "goal," "target," "potential," "seek," "intend," "aspire," "strive" or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations, predictions, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events and conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements and from the Company's historical performance, results and experience. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include such things as: general business conditions, strengths of retail and manufacturing economies and growth in the coatings industry; changes in general economic conditions; changes in raw material and energy supplies and pricing; disruptions in the supply chain; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, including those that may be related to climate change or otherwise; losses of or changes in the Company's relationships with customers and suppliers; competitive factors; the Company's ability to successfully integrate past and future acquisitions into its existing operations, as well as the performance of the businesses acquired; the Company's ability to achieve expected benefits of restructuring and productivity initiatives; public health crises; damages to our business, reputation, image or brands due to negative publicity; and other risks, uncertainties and factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since it is not possible to predict or identify all of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results, the above list should not be considered a complete list. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS:
Jim Jaye
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Direct: 216.515.8682
investor.relations@sherwin.com
Eric Swanson
Vice President, Investor Relations
Direct: 216.566.2766
investor.relations@sherwin.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Julie Young
Vice President, Global Corporate Communications
Direct: 216.515.8849
corporatemedia@sherwin.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sherwin-williams-signs-agreement-to-divest-china-architectural-paint-business-301801077.html
SOURCE The Sherwin-Williams Company
