Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZA; AKZOY) has signed and closed the acquisition of Swire Industrial Limited’s minority interest in the AkzoNobel Swire Paints (ANSP) joint venture. Having held the majority share in the decorative paints joint venture since 1989, AkzoNobel has now acquired full ownership.

This acquisition strengthens AkzoNobel’s leading position in the Chinese decorative paints market while also increasing the flexibility to further develop the business.

Thierry Vanlancker, CEO of AkzoNobel, said: “China has been, and continues to be, a strategic growth market for AkzoNobel. The timing of this acquisition is perfect. It will strengthen our leading position and help drive our value creation ambition for China. It also supports our ongoing transformation into a focused paints and coatings company and gives further momentum to our strategy of achieving 15% return on sales by 2020.”

Ruud Joosten, COO of AkzoNobel, added: “We would like to thank Swire for the constructive and strong partnership we’ve had over the last three decades. The ANSP joint venture has well established sales channels, strong brand recognition and a high level of innovation. We look forward to maintaining this successful path and continuing to serve our customers with top quality brands.”

The ANSP joint venture manufactures and distributes decorative paints, primarily under the Dulux brand. Manufacturing plants are located at Guangzhou (including a 10% joint venture with a local partner), Shanghai, Langfang and Chengdu.