BASF completes sale to Sherwin-Williams of Brazil paints business

BASF SE and Sherwin-Williams Co announced on Thursday that Sherwin-Williams has bought BASF's Brazilian decorative paints business for USD1.15 billion.

The acquisition was approved by the Brazilian competition authority at the end of August.

The business, called Suvunil, will become part of the Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group, the Cleveland, Ohio-based paints and coatings company said.

Sherwin-Williams said the USD1.15 billion price represents a low teens Ebitda multiple, following anticipated post-transaction synergies net of one-time costs. Despite the outlay, it expects to end this year with a net-debt to Ebitda ratio within its 2.0 to 2.5 times target range.

Furthermore, Sherwin-Williams said it expects Suvinil to raise its consolidated sales by a low single-digit percentage on-year in the fourth quarter, although the impact to diluted net income per share will be "immaterial".

Ludwigshafen, Germany-based chemicals manufacturer BASF said the deal includes the Suvinil and Glasu! brands, around 1,000 employees, production sites in Demarchi and Jaboatao, and related contracts.

The paints arm was "BASF's only sizeable B2C business", it noted, and "almost exclusively" operated in Brazil with "only limited synergies" with BASF's other coatings businesses. It generated sales of around EUR485 million in 2024.

"This transaction exemplifies how we are proceeding at speed to create value through active portfolio management as part of BASF's Winning Ways strategy," commented executive board member Anup Kothari, who is responsible for the Coatings division. "We are convinced that the decorative paints business will continue to thrive under the ownership of Sherwin-Williams."

Sherwin-Williams Chair & Chief Executive Officer Heidi Petz, meanwhile, commented: "Suvinil is a business we have admired for decades, and the rare opportunity to add an organisation of this quality to Sherwin-Williams aligns directly with our long-term growth strategy.

"Suvinil is highly complementary to our existing presence in Latin America...and immediately accelerates our ability to provide industry-leading solutions for our customers and opportunities for our employees. We are excited to add Suvinil's outstanding talent, brands, technology, distribution, manufacturing and customers to the Sherwin-Williams portfolio."