The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) announced an agreement to acquire German-based Specialized Industrial Coatings Holding, a Peter Möhrle Holding and GP Capital UG venture comprised of Oskar Nolte GmbH and Klumpp Coatings GmbH. The business' portfolio of solutions includes foil coatings as well as radiation-cured and waterbased coatings for the board, furniture and flooring industry. With a presence in Europe, Asia and South America, the business has approximately 220 employees and annual sales of more than €91.5 million, and will become part of the Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group reportable segment. The transaction is expected to close by early 2023, pending customary regulatory approvals.
"This acquisition creates opportunities to accelerate our profitable growth in the global industrial wood market and fits our strategy of acquiring complementary, high-quality and differentiated businesses," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis. "The company's extensive offerings include unique and innovative foil coatings, which provide us with access to another adjacent growth market where Sherwin-Williams has not participated previously. We are excited by Oskar Nolte's and Klumpp Coatings' strong technical and commercial teams, excellent relationships with multi-national and local customers, strategically-located manufacturing, and key specification and approval positions, all of which we will leverage further throughout Europe and beyond. We look forward to welcoming the talented employees of these businesses to the Sherwin-Williams family upon the close of the transaction."
"Today's announcement further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to creating shareholder value through our consistent and balanced capital allocation strategy," added Mr. Morikis. "Through the first nine months of 2022, we have invested approximately $191 million in core capital expenditures largely aimed at growth initiatives, deployed approximately $630 million for acquisitions, and returned just over $1.2 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. We expect to continue our approach supported by our strong ongoing cash generation."
