WASHINGTON (AP) — Paint company Sherwin-Williams is buying rival Valspar for $11.3 billion in a move that it says will expand its reach in Asia and Europe.
Sherwin-Williams says it is paying $113 per share in cash, a 35 percent premium to the closing price of Valspar's stock Friday. The combined company would employ 58,000 people and would have had revenue of $15.6 billion last year.
John Morikis, president and CEO of Sherwin-Williams, says the deal will enable the companies to save $280 million annually within two years by cutting sales, administrative and other expenses. He says the savings should reach $320 million in the long-run. Sherwin-Williams will remain headquartered in Cleveland.
The acquisition is subject to antitrust review and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter in 2017.