PPG to Acquire Mexican Paint Company Comex for $2.3 Billion

laht.com

MEXICO CITY – Mexican paint company Comex said on Monday it was being acquired by U.S.-based PPG Industries for $2.3 billion.

Mexican regulators rejected an attempt last year by U.S.-based Sherwin-Williams to buy Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V. on the grounds that the deal would harm competition in the market.

The agreement with PPG Industries is subject to regulatory approval, Comex said.

“We are excited to proudly join the PPG team, a company with over 130 years of experience that admires and respects Comex’s achievements over more than 60 years. Being part of PPG gives us new opportunities and synergies that will allow us to continue to significantly grow in our markets,” Comex CEO Marcos Achar Levy said.

The deal will open the way for growth in the highly competitive global market, Achar Levy said.

“In these times of globalization and highly competitive markets, strategic alliances allow the development of companies and its individuals,” the Comex CEO said.

PPG Industries chairman and CEO Charles Bunch, for his part, said the acquisition of Comex would bolster his Pittsburgh-based company’s presence in Mexico and Latin America, “a region where we have negligible architectural coatings presence.”

“Comex is a high-quality, well-managed business with a long heritage of excellent customer service and leading, well-recognized regional brands,” Bunch said.

Comex, which was founded in 1952, is Mexico’s largest paint manufacturer.

The company has more than 3,000 paint stores across Mexico operated by franchisees, who sell paint for construction and industrial uses.

PPG Industries, which was founded in 1883, has operations in nearly 70 countries.