Sherwin-Williams Co., (IW 1000/399) the largest U.S. paint retailer, said it agreed to buy rival Valspar Corp. for about $9.3 billion.
Sherwin-Williams will pay $113 a share in an all-cash transaction, the companies said on March 20. The price is about 41% higher than Valspar’s volume-weighted average price for the 30 days through March 18, according to the statement. Valspar closed on Friday at $83.83.
John Morikis, chief executive officer of Sherwin-Williams, is forging the company’s biggest deal ever less than three months after succeeding longtime CEO Christopher Conner.
With Valspar, the company adds $4.39 billion of paint sales to its 2015 total of $11.3 billion. Sherwin-Williams abandoned a bid in 2014 to acquire Comex, Mexico’s largest paint company, after Mexican regulators blocked the sale.
Including $2 billion in Valspar debt that Sherwin-Williams will assume, the transaction is valued at $11.3 billion, Sean Hennessy, chief financial officer of the acquiring company, said by telephone.
Sherwin-Williams said it expected to wring $280 million of annual savings from the combination within two years, eventually rising to $320 million.
The deal should close by the end of the first quarter next year, the companies said.
