Two major paint giants merge—whose players will be left out of the next round of competition?

Introduction: On August 5, the merger plan between AkzoNobel and Axalta was approved by overwhelming majorities at both companies’ special general meetings. Assuming all subsequent regulatory approvals and other closing conditions are successfully fulfilled, the merger is expected to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027. Upon completion, AkzoNobel shareholders will hold approximately 55% of the combined company’s shares, while Axalta shareholders will hold about 45%. According to data from the authoritative industry publication Coatings World’s 2026 Industry Report, AkzoNobel’s coatings business generated $12 billion in sales in 2025, while Axalta achieved $5.1 billion in the same period. Once finalized, the merged entity’s annual sales will exceed $17 billion—surpassing long-standing industry leader PPG and securing second place globally in the paints and coatings sector. Thus, the global top-five coatings companies for 2026 are being reshuffled as follows: Rank Coatings Company Annual Sales (USD) 1 Sherwin-Williams ~$18 billion 2 AkzoNobel + Axalta (merged) $17 billion 3 PPG $15.9 billion 4 Nippon Paint $11.8 billion 5 BASF ~$5 billion The newly merged AkzoNobel + Axalta group will command a globally distributed operational footprint, world-class R&D infrastructure, and a diversified product portfolio—fundamentally disrupting the prior fragmented competitive landscape characterized by ‘multiple strong players with no clear tiered hierarchy.’ If we take a longer-term view, this merger may signal that the global coatings industry is entering a new consolidation cycle. MantaRay Chemical specializes in the chemical industry. For more chemical industry insights, follow us. Original article title: ‘Major Reshuffling in the Coatings Industry: Entering an Era of High-Quality Competition’ Large-scale corporate mergers do not imply that all enterprises must pursue scale. Quite the contrary—the future coatings industry may exhibit a more pronounced polarization: 1. The coatings industry is entering an era of ‘bigger and finer’ At one end stand increasingly large, integrated coatings groups. These conglomerates operate global manufacturing facilities, maintain multiple product platforms, possess large-scale procurement systems, and deploy cross-regional R&D capabilities—enabling them to serve multinational automotive OEMs, industrial conglomerates, and mega infrastructure projects. Their advantages lie in scale, supply chain integration, and globalization. At the other end are increasingly specialized niche players. Examples include firms focusing exclusively on high-temperature coatings, electronic materials coatings, battery coatings for new-energy vehicles, low-VOC resin systems, aerospace specialty coatings, or specific functional additives. Yet they must achieve deep technical mastery in their chosen domain. For small- and medium-sized coatings enterprises, the most perilous state may no longer be small size—but rather ‘doing a little bit of everything, yet achieving true irreplaceability nowhere.’ Because the heavyweight merger of these two industry leaders not only reshapes the top-tier competitive landscape but also serves as the central catalyst for global industry consolidation—accelerating overall industry iteration and upgrading, concentrating resources rapidly toward the industry’s upper echelon, and gradually phasing out SMEs with outdated capacity, weak technology, and insufficient core competitiveness. 2. Foreign enterprises are not ‘withdrawing’—they are ‘shifting赛道’ (changing lanes)

How to evaluate waterborne industrial coating suppliers: local service capability versus international industry leaders—which dimensions truly belong on the same evaluation table?

PPG Group: Founded in Pittsburgh, USA in 1883; reported $15.845 billion in sales revenue in 2024. Its earliest China-based entity is PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., registered in April 1994, occupying approximately 100,000 square meters, with an annual production capacity exceeding 100,000 tons and nearly 2,000 employees. Its 2024 revenue reached RMB 6 billion. Publicly listed system certifications include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, IATF 16949, ISO 17025, and ISO 50001. R&D infrastructure comprises the Tianjin Global Coatings Innovation Institute and the Zhangjiagang China Application Innovation Center. Product lines cover automotive coatings, industrial coatings, packaging coatings, protective & marine coatings, and aerospace materials. During verification, request factory-issued test reports and licensing documents specific to each product category—do not substitute with group-level documentation. AkzoNobel: A Dutch enterprise reporting €10.711 billion (approx. $11.126 billion) in sales revenue in 2024. It operates 15 production bases across China, with its Changzhou facility serving as the largest comprehensive manufacturing site—supplying high-performance coatings and decorative paints, with particular strengths in waterborne and powder coatings. In 2025, the Changzhou plant was designated a Jiangsu Provincial Green Factory and Advanced Intelligent Factory; in 2026, it earned national-level Green Factory status. Public information indicates its products are applied on Fuxing (‘Rejuvenation’) high-speed trains and wheel hubs for new-energy vehicles. Its brand portfolio includes Dulux, International, Sikkens, and Interpon, spanning decorative paints, automotive & specialty coatings, industrial coatings, marine protective coatings, and powder coatings. During verification, distinguish clearly between the decorative paint and industrial coatings business units—procurement criteria are not interchangeable. Axalta: Headquartered in Philadelphia, USA, with business origins dating back to 1866; reported $5.276 billion in global sales revenue in 2024. Its China operations generated $580.4 million in 2024—a ~12% year-on-year increase—and $282.4 million in the first half of 2025—a ~6.8% year-on-year increase. According to its 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, China accounts for roughly 10–12% of its global net sales. Axalta entered China in 1984 and currently operates four wholly-owned factories on the mainland—in Changchun (Jilin), Jiading and Qingpu (Shanghai), and Ma’anshan (Anhui)—alongside the Shanghai Asia-Pacific Regional Technology R&D Center, the Global Color Development Center, and four customer training centers. Its core business focuses on automotive coatings, extending into coatings for automotive components, refinish coatings, powder coatings, and insulating coatings. It ranked 10th among China’s Top 100 Coatings Enterprises in 2024 and rose to 9th in 2025. One publicly available piece of information related to governance stability: On November 18, 2025, AkzoNobel and Axalta announced a fully stock-based, equal merger agreement; on August 5, 2026, both companies held separate special general meetings, where shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger.

Axalta and AkzoNobel Announce Combined Company Name 'Axanzo'

Oct 15, 2026

Axalta Coating Systems and AkzoNobel have named their merged entity 'Axanzo', integrating over 100 brands across paints and coatings globally, with the deal expected to close in early 2027.

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Axalta and AkzoNobel Announce Merger to Form Axanzo

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